Like any parent, Calgarian Nancy Yakibonge wants to keep her five-month-old daughter healthy. But the growing number of measles outbreaks has been threatening that goal.
Yakibonge said she now has to limit her baby’s contact with people as the highly contagious virus spreads across the province.
While she isn’t too concerned about the outbreaks for now, she’s worried as case numbers continue to climb, causing even more problems down the road.
This story is part of an editorial partnership between the Calgary Journal and MacEwan University journalism.
Alberta has reported 74 cases of measles as of April 14, with a total of 18 of them under five years old, and 51 cases between the ages of five and 17.
There has also been a surge in reported cases nationwide this year, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, with more than 730 cases in Canada, the vast majority in Ontario.
Craig Jenne, professor in the department of microbiology, immunology, and infectious diseases at the University of Calgary, said measles can linger in the air for hours.
High levels of vaccinations of the measles vaccine of around 95 per cent are therefore required to create herd immunity, he said. But vaccination rates have been on the decline, according to provincial data.
In 2023, an average of 69.3 per cent of children in Alberta were fully vaccinated with both doses of the measles vaccine by the age of two.
While Calgary’s average immunization rate for children aged two is 75 percent, in some parts of the province, the rate has fallen far below 50 percent. In High Level, coverage is 10.5 percent.
“We are nowhere near the level needed to really contain or extinguish this virus once again from Alberta at this point in time,” Jenne said.
Several factors have contributed to declining vaccination rates in recent years, he added.
Along with disinformation about vaccines that has been circulating for years, he said the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions to those who were getting their measles vaccinations, and many may not have gotten their second dose due to the disruption.
In addition, Jenne said there are a growing number of people in Alberta and across Canada who do not have access to a family doctor, and the yearly health checkups and “the efficacy of vaccination and the safety of vaccination” reminders that come with that.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, one dose of the measles vaccine, which is given after 12 months of age, is up to 95 per cent effective in preventing infection.
The second dose, which is typically given at 18 months of age or between four to six years of age, is up to 99 per cent effective.
Jennifer Winter, a pharmacist in Drayton Valley, north of Calgary, said mistrust in drug companies and government agencies is one factor playing a role in vaccine hesitancy.
Canadians were eager to get the measles vaccine when it was introduced in the 1960s because they had seen the terrible effects the disease had on people, she said.
But younger generations may not have seen the risks of measles first hand.
“All of these vaccines worked so well that this generation of parents … probably didn’t have these diseases or didn’t know anybody that had the disease, and so they probably don’t feel or understand the importance,” she said.
Winter said that diseases such as measles and others are prevented not only because of the effects they can have when people are first infected but also the potential long-term effects.
“If a parent’s been on the fence about getting their child vaccinated, I would 100 per cent think about getting it done as soon as possible, just in light of the outbreaks,” she said.
Jenne agreed, saying that, for some people, measles can cause a severe viral infection that requires hospitalization.
In more severe cases, measles can have an impact on the nervous system that can persist and cause long-lasting or permanent effects, he said.
Jenne also said vaccination helps effectively create herd immunity that protects those who are the most vulnerable, which can include children who are too young to be immunized, cancer patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy or healthcare workers and others at risk of infection.
“We rely on the fact that we have enough protection out in the community that if a measles case arrives, it should not be able to spread to our at-risk groups,” he said.
“We simply do not have that level of protection anymore in the community. Those firewalls don’t exist, and the virus can …move quite freely through communities.”
As for Yakibonge, she plans on continuing to take preventive measures to protect her five-month-old until she is old enough to get vaccinated.
This includes limiting her daughter’s interactions with large groups of people, continuing other vaccinations as recommended, and delaying her start of daycare until she is fully protected.