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New Jersey Governor Christie ducks media after vaccination comments

By Sam Wilkin LONDON (Reuters) – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a possible 2016 presidential contender, cancelled three scheduled media appearances in the UK on Tuesday, amid a controversy over his comments on measles vaccinations. His comments came a few hours after President Barack Obama said parents should have their children vaccinated, saying the science was “pretty indisputable.” Christie cancelled two question-and-answer sessions and a press statement he was due to make after meeting UK finance minister George Osborne. “We just decided we're not going to have availability today,” said Maria Comella, Christie's head of communications, after the last scheduled appearance was cancelled.

Obama tells parents to get kids vaccinated to stem measles

President Barack Obama is urging parents to get their children vaccinated in the face of a measles outbreak that has infected more than 100 people in the United States. In excerpts from an interview with NBC News that will air on Monday, Obama said measles was a preventable disease. He said that while he understood there were families concerned about the effect of vaccinations, he said the science was “pretty indisputable.” “We’ve looked at this again and again. There have been 91 measles cases in California, with at least 58 of those epidemiologically linked to a cluster that began at Disneyland in December.

British health worker being tested for Ebola after needle injury

A British military healthcare worker was flown back to England from Sierra Leone on Saturday following a needle-stick injury sustained while treating a person with Ebola, the Public Health England (PHE) service said on Saturday. The patient, who has not been named, has been taken for testing to the Royal Free Hospital in London. “They are likely to have been exposed to the Ebola virus but, at this time, have not been diagnosed with Ebola and do not have symptoms,” PHE said in a statement. The Royal Free, Britain's main center for Ebola cases, also successfully treated British aid worker William Pooley who contracted the virus in West Africa last year.

Medical charity MSF opens Ebola clinic for pregnant women

By Umaru Fofana FREETOWN (Reuters) – Medical charity Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) has opened the first care centre in the current Ebola epidemic for pregnant women, whose survival rate from the virus is virtually zero, the charity said on Saturday. There is currently one patient in the clinic, which is perched on a hill in the compound of a disused Methodist boys high school in the Sierra Leone capital. …