Most Island children receive measles vaccine

P.E.I. not considering requiring mandatory vaccination prior to school entry

A measles outbreak in British Columbia has led the western province to start requiring parents to report their children’s vaccination status by the start of the school year, but P.E.I.’s chief public health officer said this isn’t something P.E.I. is considering at this point in time.

Dr. Heather Morrison said the Island is in a different boat than B.C. as reporting requirements for immunization are legislated on the Island.

Anytime someone is immunized, it is recorded and reported.

“We track and report on immunization rates of children in P.E.I. regularly,” Morrison told The Guardian earlier this month, adding that on the Island, public health nursing is responsible for providing children with vaccinations and making sure they contact the parents of every child.

The province also has a process for newcomers to the Island, where there is an opportunity to offer them immunization and to obtain their previous vaccine records, she said.

“It also provides an opportunity for public health nursing to connect with any possibly vaccine-hesitant parents … they have a list of resources they can give to parents and they can establish a contact and be there to answer any questions.”

Morrison was pleased to report that the majority of children who enter the Island’s publicschool system – 95.3 per cent – have received their two doses of the measles vaccine. “When we have that kind of rate, it’s not something we would be considering at this point in time in terms of mandatory vaccination prior to school entry.” There have been no measles cases in P.E.I. in a number of years, and Morrison said she thinks that is partly due to the province’s high vaccination rate.

The province encourages people to be immunized to protect themselves and to protect those who may be immunocompromised and can’t receive vaccinations.

Babies under one year of age, for example, can’t be immunized for measles, she said.

“You want to protect your community and your family, so you’d want to be well-vaccinated.”