Tuesday’s Top Stories: Measles outbreak threat triggers plan for catch-up vaccinations; School places unavailable amid enrolment crisis

Measles outbreak threat triggers plan for catch-up vaccinations for young adults

Plans are being made for an urgent catch-up vaccination programme for young adults against measles after the Health Service Executive warned the probability of an outbreak in Ireland was high.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly will brief Cabinet on Tuesday that a significant increase of measles cases notified in Europe this winter, coupled with falling rates of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine uptake in Ireland, has raised concerns about wide transmission of the disease in Ireland in 2024.

One-fifth of the population in some counties have no protection against measles, due to low vaccination rates.

News from around the World

Senegal parliament delays elections until December after opposition showdown: Senegal’s parliament voted late Monday to delay elections until December, after opposition politicians seeking to block the vote were thrown out of the National Assembly.

The Big Read

‘Not my crime, but still my time’: The families serving jail terms outside for loved ones: Like thousands of people whose loved ones are incarcerated in an Irish prison unit, Grace waits for a six-minute phone call every day, at the same time, since prison became part of her routine.

The best from Opinion

Today's Business

Unclaimed tax refunds: How to get some of your tax back: Irish taxpayers are leaving some €683 million on the table, or almost €300 each, by not filing income tax returns, and claiming all the credits they are due, new figures show.

Top Sports news

Owen Doyle: World Rugby’s officials start on the front foot after strong opening round: About 800km away, almost precisely due north of Marseille, lies the cathedral city of Reims, probably better known as the capital of the world’s most famous sparkling wine region. The distance between the two cities roughly represents the size of the gulf between the two teams on Friday, with the French failing to uncork the champagne rugby which many of us had feared would make it a long night.