Parents in Canada are worried as they face new waves of measles, and worrying about their children’s health is not something they should have to do. This unprecedented and concerning increase in infections has resulted in health professionals and parents urging swift vaccination action. Throughout the course of this outbreak since the beginning of March, Alberta has seen almost 1,380 cases of measles. By contrast, Ontario has reported fewer than 2,270 infections since the outbreak started last fall.
The total number of confirmed measles cases in Canada has jumped to 3,822 in the four affected provinces as of July 5. In fact, immunization rates for children in the province have dropped below the 95 percent herd immunity threshold. Now, experts are sounding the alarm to get people vaccinated and boosted. Shelly Bolotin, a public health expert, tried to clarify the realities of measles. She explained that the incubation period can last up to three weeks after exposure before a person begins to show symptoms. This delay makes it vital for parents to ensure their children are vaccinated as soon as possible to avoid exposure.
Measles is especially dangerous because it infects immune cells, erasing memory to all previously acquired immunity. This puts people of all ages, but especially young children, at risk from other bacterial and viral pathogens for many years afterwards. Dr. Anna Banerji, a pediatric infectious disease specialist, explained that complications from measles can lead to pneumonia, hepatitis, and encephalitis. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a progressive neurological disorder, is a rare but fatal complication that can occur at a young age. It has an incidence of only four to eleven people in 100,000 cases.
For example, in Alberta, children get their first measles vaccine at 12 months. It’s now administered with their second dose, at 18 months. Children six months and older are eligible for the vaccine. This is particularly critical if they are visiting or residing in an area that is undergoing an outbreak. As it takes up to two weeks for the vaccination to take full effect, timing is key and parents need to move quickly.
Even with all of these risks, the rate of measles immunization are dangerously low. As of March 2022, by age two, 80 percent of children in Alberta have one dose of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Only 68 percent go on to finish the series with both doses. This gap in vaccination coverage means that over half of the population remains vulnerable to contracting the virus.
Morgan Birch, a Maryland parent who supported the measure unequivocally, laid bare the need for education and awareness on vaccinations. “Basically as parents it’s your responsibility to educate yourself with the help of your pediatrician and health-care professionals,” she stated. Birch highlighted the broader implications of failing to vaccinate children: “It’s not just that parent or child who it affected when they don’t vaccinate; there’s a whole other population that needs to be protected by vaccines.”
In reaction to the outbreak, state epidemiologist, Dr. Kimberley Barker declared that health officials are ramping up immunization efforts. This initiative arrives just as schools begin making plans to open again in September. This initiative would increase access to vaccinations for time-strapped families and make it easier for children to get the immunizations they need.
“Our own Shelly Bolotin, M.Ed. offered some more advice for parents contemplating travel to countries with outbreaks of measles. “As people are going out of town and taking trips — if they are going to measles endemic areas — they can protect their infant if they’re a minimum of six months old,” she advised.
The urgency of the need for measles vaccinations is difficult to overstate. As we saw with the pandemic, the infectious disease continues to be a major threat to the health of children, including long-term effects from infection alone. Health officials have gone to great lengths trying to contain this outbreak. At the same time, parents need to be doing everything they can to keep their kids healthy.
