Opposition to vaccination among parents grows, poll suggests

A growing number of Cana‐ dian parents say they are opposed to vaccinating their children, according to a new poll, amid a resur‐ gence in potentially deadly diseases such as measles.

The opinion poll, released Wednesday by the Angus Reid Institute, comes as pub‐ lic health officials try to catch up on routine vaccinations among children after a drop off during the pandemic.

Among survey responden‐ ts, 17 per cent of parents of minors said they are "really against" vaccinating their kids, compared with four per cent in 2019. A majority, 67 per cent, said they would vac‐ cinate their child "without reservation," down from five years prior. Meanwhile, 16 per cent said they weren't sure.

An increased number of parents also said they were opposed to mandatory vacci‐ nation in school, which is a policy in place in Ontario and New Brunswick. Opposition to this idea climbed from 24 per cent to 38 per cent be‐ tween 2019 and 2024.

The pandemic likely led to increased skepticism among some Canadians about vacci‐ nation, according to Caroline Quach-Thanh, a pediatric in‐ fectious diseases specialist at Montreal's Sainte-Justine Hospital.

WATCH: Don't underesti‐ mate the risk of diseases like measles, doctor cau‐ tions:

She said programs where parents can meet with a health provider and ask questions can help address any concerns.

"I think it's through dis‐ cussion that people can change their mind," she told CBC News.

She stressed that routine vaccinations are safe and ef‐ fective, and that failing to get protection against diseases such as measles can have grave consequences, not just for one's own children but for other vulnerable individuals who aren't eligible to get im‐ munized.

Public health officials across the country have been working to get Canadian chil‐ dren back up to date on im‐ munizations, after routine childhood vaccinations fell during the pandemic.

In 2021, nearly 300,000 children had missed or de‐ layed routine immunizations, according to a survey by 19 to Zero, a not-for-profit coali‐ tion of medical and public health experts that facilitates vaccination.

Explosion of measles cases

Measles cases have re‐ cently spiked in Europe, as well as parts of the United States.

Experts have raised con‐ cern Canada could soon be the site of outbreaks as well.

Canada eliminated measles back in 1998 through widespread vaccina‐ tion programs.

In this country, the vac‐ cine is given to children ast‐ wo doses of a combined shot that also protects against a combination of infections either measles, mumps and rubella, or measles, mumps, rubella and varicella.

The annual case count re‐ mains small - only a dozen confirmed infections were re‐ ported country-wide in 2023 and most cases are now ac‐ quired through travel outside the country.

But experts say outbreaks are still a risk. Canada, like many other countries, hasn't hit the 95 per cent vaccina‐ tion coverage required to prevent its spread.

Measles is airborne, high‐ ly infectious and can have se‐ rious consequences, includ‐ ing blindness, deafness and death.

Importance of vaccines

The Angus Reid survey was conducted online between Feb. 16 and Feb. 19 among 1,626 Canadian adults. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The survey also noted that the question of vaccina‐ tion has become more diffi‐ cult to discuss among friends and family since the pan‐ demic.

One in five of those polled said they worry about vacci‐ nation being brought up in social circles.

It found that perception of vaccines varies widely among Canadians, with 29 per cent viewing them as "very effec‐ tive," while, on the other side of the spectrum, 14 per cent believe vaccination is harmful and unnecessary.

Medical experts stress that vaccines are the best way to prevent against seri‐ ous disease.

Two doses of the measles vaccine, for instance, is 97 per cent effective and has saved an estimated 57 mil‐ lion lives between 2000 and 2022, according to the Cen‐ ters for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Canada, vaccines pre‐ vent illnesses such as diph‐ theria, whooping cough, polio, rotavirus, hepatitis B, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, pneumococcal and meningo‐ coccal diseases, human pa‐ pillomavirus virus (HPV), in‐ fluenza and measles.