28% of kindergarten students in N.B. fail to meet immunization requirements

More than a quarter of New Brunswick kindergarten students did not meet the immunization requirements to enter public school in 2023-24, the latest figures from the Department of Health show.

Only 71.8 per cent of students provided proof of full immunization against nine diseases, including measles, mumps and meningococcal disease, as required under the Public Health Act, according to the School Immunization Program report.

That means nearly 2,000 four- and five-year-olds did not, based on Department of Education data.

Vaccination rates are down from 2022-23, when 73.9 per cent of kindergarten students met the requirements, but up from 61.4 per cent in 2021-22.

The report does not provide vaccination rates for older students and neither department responded to a request for those figures.

Largest measles outbreak in decades

New Brunswick is in the midst of the largest measles outbreak recorded in “several decades.”

Fifty cases of the highly infectious respiratory disease have now been confirmed — all in health Zone 3, which includes Fredericton and parts of the Upper Saint John River Valley area, Department of Health spokesperson Tara Chislett told CBC News Tuesday.

All of the cases can be traced back to the initial one reported Oct. 24, involving a person who recently travelled internationally, Chislett said, and all of them were considered vulnerable because they either never had measles before, were unvaccinated or immunocompromised.

WATCH | How low immunization rates are related to the current measles outbreak:

Measles cases are rising in N.B. Where does student immunization stand?

6 hours ago

Duration 1:54

New Brunswick is in the midst of one of the largest measles outbreaks in several decades. Students are supposed to be immunized against the disease — but not all of them are.
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More than 80 per cent of the infected New Brunswickers are under 19, Chislett said. She did not provide a further breakdown, or the age of the youngest case.

Measles is transmitted through the air or by direct contact with nasal or throat secretions of an infected person.

The virus can linger in the air for hours, and one infected person can spread it to nine out of 10 unprotected people around them.

A map of Canada illustrating the geographic distribution of 130 measles cases by province and territory, as of Nov. 9.
New Brunswick accounts for 31 per cent of the measles cases across Canada this year, as of Nov. 9, while Quebec has 41 per cent of the cases and Ontario, 26 per cent. (Public Health Agency of Canada)

The New Brunswick outbreak has pushed Canada’s annual case count to 130, which includes the death of child under five in Hamilton, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

In 2023, only 12 measles cases were reported across Canada all year.

Outbreak related to immunization rates

“The current outbreak of measles is directly related to low immunization rates. It’s that simple,” said Ian Culbert, executive director of the Canadian Public Health Association, an independent national advocate for public health.

“And it’s really unfortunate because this is an effective vaccine. It is proven to be safe. It is available, it is free. There’s really no barrier stopping parents from having their kids immunized,” he said.

A portrait of a man with greying hair, wearing a black collared shirt, black blazer and glasses.
Ian Culbert, executive director of the Canadian Public Health Association, urges parents to think not only about the safety of their own child when deciding about vaccines but also other children who are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons. (Google Meet/CBC)

But the immunization report shows that among New Brunswick kindergarten students with incomplete records, 55 per cent were missing the second dose of the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine.

The national immunization target is 95 per cent by 2025 to provide so-called herd immunity, where there’s enough community resistance to a disease that it’s unlikely to spread.

Superintendents have discretion with partial records

CBC News requested an interview with the Department of Health last Thursday, but was told no one was available. Instead, Department of Education spokesperson Erika Jutras sent an emailed statement Tuesday on behalf of both departments.

She said the Education Act stipulates that district superintendents “shall refuse admission to a pupil entering school for the first time who does not provide satisfactory proof of the immunizations required” — unless they have a medical exemption or a signed parental objection.

A graphic illustrating the percentage of kindergarten students meeting requirements for school entry in 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The percentage of kindergarten students meeting immunization requirements for school entry decreased to 71.8 per cent in 2023-24, from 73.9 per cent in the 2022/23 school year, the Department of Health’s school immunization program report shows. (Department of Health/CBC)

Under Policy 706 “the superintendent has the discretion to refuse or to admit a student in cases where parents provide proof that at least the first vaccine of a series has been received within the previous six months,” Jutras said.

Those students who are admitted receive a 120-day permit and must get their shots within that timeframe, she said. If they don’t, they will be “excluded from school.” She did not say for how long.

A number of jurisdictions in Ontario, such as the Waterloo region, have sent suspension warning letters to thousands of elementary and secondary students in recent months and followed through with suspensions after a few weeks.

“If suspension is what’s needed in order to get parents to take action, then that is the step that needs to be taken by the school authorities and Public Health authorities in collaboration,” said Culbert.

A child with measles poses for a stock photo.
The majority of the measles cases in the Fredericton region involve children or youth, according to the Department of Health. (Shutterstock)

Jutras did not say how often New Brunswick students are being suspended, or what either department is doing to improve vaccination uptake among students.

But according to the immunization report, the absence of records does not necessarily mean a child is unvaccinated. It “may be due to non-submission by parents/guardian.”

In addition, a recent increase in population among the cohort of children entering kindergarten “may artificially lower the reported coverage rates” for the required school entrance vaccines, the report suggests.

Proof of immunization required since 1982

Proof of immunization for certain diseases has been a legislated requirement for children entering New Brunswick public schools since 1982.

Under the Public Health Act, these currently include: measles , mumps, rubella, chicken pox, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis or whooping cough, polio and meningococcal.

Although proof is required for all children entering public school for the first time, the department’s immunization report focuses on children eligible for entry into kindergarten.

Children who are home-schooled, enrolled in a private school, or have no school information in the Public Health Information Solution are excluded.

Horizon adds measles vaccination clinics

Primary care providers and Public Health offices can offer the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to eligible New Brunswickers, the Department of Health spokesperson said. This includes children and teens who have not received two doses after turning a year old, and adults born in 1970 or later who never received two doses.

Horizon Health is also hosting additional free vaccination clinics in the Fredericton region this week, including:

  • Woodstock on Wednesday, from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., at 200 King St.
  • Fredericton on Thursday, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at 300 St. Mary’s St.

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