Health Notes

B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson calls for free MMR vaccines for any child exposed to measles

by Charlie Smith on February 26th, 2019 at 1:48 PM
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      Health officials recommend that the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccine be administered twice to children.

      The first is usually given when an infant is between 12 and 15 months of age, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, with the second given when the child is between four and six years old.

      But what if a kid has been exposed to measles but hasn't been vaccinated?

      In these cases, B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson has called on Health Minister Adrian Dix to make the MMR vaccine available for free.

      “Free administration of the MMR vaccine to any child exposed to measles is safe and effective, and is known as Post Exposure Prophylaxis,” Wilkinson said in a statement issued today. “PEP has been widely recognized as safe and effective for more than 30 years.”

      Wilkinson, a trained physician, called this "a free, effective, and zero-risk program to stop measles in its tracks".

      However, Dix told the legislature that the vaccine is already free for everyone in B.C.

      "Right now all of our public health offices, in some parts of the province, those are the primary centre for immunization," the health minister explained. "In other parts, it's doctor's offices. But all of those public health units—nurses, nurse practitioners, doctor's offices and pharmacists for those over the age of five, as well. We have to ensure that pharmacies have adequate access to the vaccine to meet demand."

      Dix has already called for mandatory reporting of vaccination histories to schools by September.

      Parents who refuse to allow their kids to be vaccinated will be forced to take a course explaining the risks associated with not immunizing against measles, mumps, and rubella.

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