Measles Vaccination Rates Decline Across British Columbia Regions from 2015 to 2024

C. Centre for Disease Control indicates that measles immunization rates for children seven and under decreased in every region of British Columbia between 2015 and 2024. Provincewide, the percentage of seven-year-olds fully vaccinated against measles fell from 90 percent in 2015 to 70 percent in 2024.

Health officials state that rates below 95 percent can facilitate the spread of measles. Dr. Monika Naus, a professor at the University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health, noted that lower immunization rates among children increase the potential for disease transmission.

She stated that school-level data shows some uptake rates substantially below 95 percent. Depending on the location of an imported measles case, transmission could occur in certain areas while posing less risk in others.

A measles outbreak began in October 2024 in New Brunswick, leading to Canada losing its measles elimination status last fall, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

This status was lost due to sustained transmission of the same measles virus strain for more than one year. The outbreak has resulted in more than 6,000 confirmed and probable cases across Canada, primarily in Ontario, Alberta, and Manitoba. In British Columbia, the outbreak concentrated in the northeast region, which has some of the province's lowest immunization rates.

For seven-year-olds in the northeast, rates dropped from 95 percent in 2015 to 66 percent in 2024. For two-year-olds, rates declined from 78 percent to 64 percent over the same period. Dr. Rakel Kling, a medical health officer for Northern Health, identified factors contributing to the decline, including changing views on immunization and access challenges.

She mentioned that rural geography requires some families to travel for vaccine appointments. Following the outbreak, immunization rates in the north increased by over 50 percent, and in the northeast by over 70 percent, in the last year.

regions saw notable drops, including Thompson Cariboo Shuswap, where coverage for seven-year-olds fell from 90 percent to 63 percent, and the Okanagan, from 85 percent to 60 percent.

The recent northeast outbreak in British Columbia resulted in just over 400 cases, the province's largest since 2014. The 2014 outbreak, comparable in size, was centered in a religious community in Chilliwack and Agassiz. Dr.

Naus indicated that the decline in reported rates may partly stem from record-keeping issues. C. Centre for Disease Control. Children who leave the province may appear unimmunized due to lack of consistent updates to public health records.

Naus suggested that merging electronic health records with immunization data, as done in Manitoba, could provide a more accurate picture. In British Columbia, these systems remain separate. Public health officials continue to monitor rates and encourage vaccination amid ongoing national transmission.