DON’T BE ‘RIDONKULOUS’
Get your kids vaccinated, says a west-end dad after case of measles at a daycare,
West-end moms and dads brought their children in to a measles vaccination clinic Monday after learning their children could have been exposed to the disease at a daycare, parents said.
Parents outside the West End College St. YMCA said they received a call from Toronto Public Health over the weekend telling them their children had been exposed to measles.
“We were just told basically that there had been someone within the centre . . . within a specified date, and as a result of that there was a low likelihood but nonetheless a chance that (my son) could have been in contact,” said Greg Millett, who was dropping off his 2-year-old son Chase at the daycare.
Millett said his son received a second dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine at the clinic. Millett himself also got vaccinated.
“With something like this, when you can seemingly prevent it, why not take the active measure,” he said, adding that he has a 5-month-old baby at home.
Millett said Toronto Public Health told him that unless he received the second vaccine or showed proof of the double-dose vaccination, Chase wouldn’t be able to attend the daycare for around 10 days.
He said Toronto Public Health told him the person infected with measles had been in the facility in late January.
In an email to the Star, a YMCA of Greater Toronto spokesperson said Monday’s private vaccination clinic was for “our child care members” at the west-end YMCA.
“We can confirm there are currently no confirmed cases of the measles at YMCA centres,” wrote spokesperson Amie Zimon.
“Toronto Public Health has confirmed that potential risk of members or their families being affected by the measles at a YMCA centre is very low. It remains the same in our centres as it does for the general public at this time.”
Toronto Public Health did not immediately respond to questions from the Star about the west-end clinic but a spokesperson said the investigation into the outbreak is ongoing.
“As part of our measles investigation, TPH follows up with individuals who have been exposed to measles at locations such as health-care settings, schools and daycares because individuals in these settings are more likely to not be fully immunized and are at a higher risk of developing severe illness,” wrote Toronto Public Health spokesperson Lenore Bromley in an email to the Star.
TPH is urging Torontonians to check their health records to make sure vaccinations are up to date.
Luisa Schwartzman lives in the College St. and Dovercourt Rd. area by the YMCA and was considering taking her son — 5 months old and is not vaccinated — to the centre for babysitting.
“Maybe I’ll wait for him to be vaccinated,” she said. “I have to be careful.”
The news of possible exposure comes just days after five babies contracted measles at a suburban Chicago daycare, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Children typically receive the first dose of the MMR vaccine at 12 months and a second dose between ages 4 and 6.
Andrew Ois’s 7-year-old son Owen also received the MMR shot Monday. “I think it’s ridonkulous (sic) that people don’t get their kids vaccinated,” he said outside the YMCA. “There’s no more granola people than my family, but the truth is that you’ve got to listen to your doctor.”
Ois owns a health-food store across from the YMCA.
He said his son already had the required double dose of the vaccine but he was told the shots were given too close together and he needed a third.
“It hurt a bit. It just hurt for two seconds,” said Owen after receiving the shot.
There are now six confirmed cases of measles in the city.
Public health officials expect the highly contagious disease will continue to spread.