Minister of Health urges British Columbians to vaccinate against measles before their summer trip

British Columbia's health minister said the province has witnessed a "dramatic increase" in the number of children vaccinated against measles since a provincial anti-measles program was put in place. infectious disease – and urges that this trend continue during the summer.

Nearly 16,000 children and adolescents were vaccinated against the highly contagious airborne disease in April and May, the first two months of the new measles immunization catch-up program.

The goal of the program is to immunize children from kindergarten to twelfth grade if they have not already been vaccinated against measles or if they have not been vaccinated. not received the two recommended doses.

There will be 900 public clinics and 230 school-based clinics offering the vaccine this month, said Dix, offering the opportunity to be vaccinated before the holidays.

"We know that British Columbians travel during the summer and that the time is right to do it, if you have not been vaccinated," Dix said.

The voluntary catch-up program was set up following a measles outbreak in BC linked to two francophone schools in Vancouver, and according to Dix, 29 cases have been confirmed in the province since the beginning of the year.

He adds that these cases of measles occur in international epidemics, including more than 1,000 in the United States.

Mandatory Reports Coming Soon

Health authorities also reviewed vaccination records of more than half a million students, and parents and guardians of those whose records were incomplete or missing were notified.

This information, combined with new vaccinations, means that the number of students who confirmed that both doses were administered in the first two months of the program increased by 23,876.

"We are making progress, as evidenced by these figures, which represent a dramatic increase over the same periods of previous years," said Dix.

A report released on Tuesday did not provide the corresponding immunization numbers for April and May 2018, and the Ministry of Health did not immediately release them.

But the report says that British Columbia The Center for Disease Control distributed 96,420 doses of measles vaccine to health authorities in April and May, compared to 24,570 doses for the same period last year.

Beginning in September, parents will be required to declare their child's immunization record. The measure does not require that children be vaccinated in order to go to school.

While misinformation about vaccinations circulates online, he says that "the vast majority of people" understand that vaccinations make children safe.

Measles can lead to complications and death, most commonly in infants under one year old and advanced adults. Center for Disease Control says.

Fever, cough, watery eyes and a rash of red spots develop on the face and spread all over the body.

Anyone suspected of having measles should contact their doctor before traveling to the office to avoid infecting other patients in the waiting room.