Referring to inoculations as jabs

Jab is easier to say, like many 'informal' words. There's no reason a reporter should be formal about measles jabs that I can see. So long as the information conveyed is correct it's fine by me for reporters to use common or garden tree-climbing words rather than formal, best-dressed long ones.

That's true, gracesmum

I don't see any problem with referring to them as "jabs" it saves all that wondering about one or two "n"s or is it one or two "c"s!! Oh, that's vaccination my spell checker tells me.
Used to be jags anyway when I was a child in Scotland.

In our surgery, it's "just a wee scratch..."

Talking of dentists...when I was a child, way back in the 40s, Mr Phillips used a foot controlled drill. He also had a stammer. I often wondered whether the juddering of the drill was to blame.

Bags that was funny!!

My old dentist used to murmer as he injected anaesthetic "Just a little prick!"

In retrospect, I think it was intentional - he also used to tell improper jokes to my MIL (who repeated them to me and was part amused, part scandalised) and he tended to lean on my shoulder a lot when bending over me with the drill.

When I was a child they were called "pricks" at my school. Jab is quite an improvement.