London children to get extra dose of polio shot

Children living in London will be offered an extra dose of the polio vaccine after the discovery of polioviruses in sewage in the British capital, health authorities announced Wednesday.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said a targeted inactivated polio vaccine booster dose should be given to children between the ages of 1 and 9 in all London boroughs.

The move will ensure a high level of protection from the spread of the disease, the UK Health Security Agency said in a statement.

Nearly 1 million children of that age live in the London region, according to the latest data from the UK Office for National Statistics.

The UK Health Security Agency said that the overall risk of polio is low because most people are protected from this by vaccination.