In Saskatchewan there has been one confirmed case of measles and Medical Health Officer Dr. Jasmine Hasselback says it was someone who traveled outside of Canada.

She says the vaccine is part of the routine childhood vaccine – MMR – which is Measles, Mumps, Rubella and public health is aiming to have children receive their two doses as soon as they can. At that point it is the parent’s right to give consent, or not.

She says Measles isn’t something the vast majority of people in Saskatchewan have ever seen but it is a very contagious and very spreadable virus.

“It’s not an intimate reality to them.  It’s their grandparents, great grandparents who lived with the fear and the scare of Measles.  And they’ll remember those Measles experiences, if not their own, then their peers. So, when it’s a distant fear, it gets deprioritized for some folks.”

Montreal is considered Canada’s epicenter after more than half of the country’s measles cases have been reported there. Quebec public health confirmed 10 cases on Monday, noting almost all of them involve children and only three cases linked to travel outside the country which indicates community spread of measles.  Ontario and B-C have also confirmed cases of the virus.

Symptoms of measles are similar to those of a cold or flu before a rash appears. The virus can lead to severe illness in children including pneumonia and swelling of the brain. Canada has set a target of 95 per cent coverage by 2025 for various childhood vaccines, including two doses of a measles-containing vaccine by about age seven and the most recent data shows the vaccination rate is around 92 per cent.

Dr. Hasselback says the reality is we are also living in a misinformation era, but she says the Measles vaccine is very safe and extremely effective vaccine.