A mother whose child died aged six from a brain inflammation caused by measles hopes sharing her story will encourage parents to “vaccinate more”.

It comes as the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned of measles outbreaks in parts of London.

Gemma Larkman-Jones wants more parents to consider having their children vaccinated sooner.

Prof Dame Jenny Harries, UKHSA chief executive, warned that measles is spreading among unvaccinated communities, and added that a “national call to action” is needed across the country.

Vaccination rates across the UK have been dropping, but there are particular concerns in parts of the capital as well as in some areas of the West Midlands.

  • ANGRY_MAPLE
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    10 months ago

    Not to detract from your point, but the waiver arguably wasn’t because of an American accent.

    A lot of Canadians know about the dangers of ground beef, isn’t it the same in the US? Most of the people commenting on this mention nothing about the food safety aspect. You can catch a lot of nasty things from undercooked meat.

    It’s not like you can sterilize the entire cow, and most restaurants don’t have their own slaughterhouse in the back. The whole reason that system works is that we cook the beef thoroughly. If we don’t cook it thoroughly, lots of those nasty things might still be there. You can’t see, smell or taste most of them.

    If I absolutely HAD to serve a customer that, I would likely add a waiver too. I would probably prefer to just send them away instead, though. One person’s whims would be a shite reason to lose your restaurant license, regardless of where that person is from.

    Do you have any sources backing up the claim that it was because the customer was American, and that it was not because it went against common food safety protocol?

    • Mr_Blott@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      You’re right, I looked back where I’d read it and it was a commenter that suggested that was the case.

      Will edit but my point still stands; litigious-minded people are the scum of the earth

      • ANGRY_MAPLE
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        10 months ago

        Oh, fair enough lol. I wasn’t sure if I might have missed something myself, so I figured I would ask just in case.

        I agree though. It would be nice to not have to worry about being falsely sued, but other people have other ideas. These people give a terrible name to other people like the poor lady from the McDonald’s case. I can’t imagine coffee so hot that it fuses skin together. It’s horrible that she also had to deal with the media after being put through pain that would be incomprehensible for most of us.

        If suing is intentionally only done for a happy quick buck, I think it’s just as bad as a scam, if not worse. Instead of just taking money, it also takes the person’s time. Time that people need for work, family, necessities, etc.