Students are heading back to class next week, and parents are hoping for a successful and healthy year ahead.
Meanwhile, Manitoba has seen an increase in measles cases, with 187 confirmed by the province so far this year. Statistics show the measles vaccination rate for children seven years of age is 65.4 per cent, a drop from 74.3 per cent in 2020.
“Measles is the most infectious virus that we know of,” says McMaster University medicine professor Dawn Bowdish, who believes getting vaccination rates up in a classroom setting to be crucial.
“A person who has measles and is breathing in the air can leave enough measles in that air that a person two hours later can walk in the room and get measles. So you can think about classrooms, how kids interact, it can spread like wildfire through unvaccinated communities.”
Younger children are more prone to side effects from the vaccine, including fever, feeling sick, and becoming irritable.
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The lowest provincial vaccination rate currently is in Manitoba’s Southern Health Region, which was found to be 53.3 per cent in 2023. The first dose of the measles vaccine is recommended when a child is at least one year old, with the second happening between the ages of four and six.
Manitoba Medical Officer of Health Natalie Casaclang says keeping kids up to date on their shots can be life-saving.
“Two doses, almost 100 per cent effective in protecting from infection and we know there are people experiencing extreme illness from measles, so getting a measles containing vaccine can protect against that.”
The province’s website has more information for parents who are looking to get their children vaccinated against measles.
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