More people getting immunized, in the midst of measles outbreak, says B.C. health minister

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – The BC government is continuing to try to ease the concerns of parents, as the South Coast continues to deal with a measles outbreak.

The total number of cases now sits at 17, after a new case was confirmed by Fraser Health Wednesday night.

“People are reacting to this by doing the right thing, which is getting immunized,” said Health Minister Adrian Dix.

RELATED: Vaccinations way up amid Metro Vancouver measles outbreak

He says additional cases were expected, and health staff have what they need to react. The silver lining is the number of people getting vaccinations continues to increase.

Dix says there has been an “enormous” increase — noting year over year, the last week of February saw a 152 per cent increase in immunizations in Fraser Health and 300 per cent in Island Health.

That’s up from increases already seen in both regions in previous weeks.

RELATED: Don’t call 911 if you think you have the measles: paramedic

For the longer-term plan of mandatory registration of vaccination records in schools, Dix says planning is still underway.

“We’re working with school districts, working with independent schools — obviously, working with the health authorities, with pharmacists, with health professionals and others. I think it’s looking good. I think the work is going very well.”

The goal is to have registration in place by September.

Fraser Health says the latest case is connected to an outbreak at three French-language schools in Vancouver. It says the patient was isolated quickly, and there are no concerns that they have exposed other people to the disease during their contagious period.

 – With files from Jonathan Szekeres and Estefania Duran

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