Ontario health units say measles vaccine registry missing ‘real-time data' on vaccination rates

Hamilton Spectator

2 days ago

Under fire for a growing measles outbreak linked to the
death of a newborn
last week, Health Minister Sylvia Jones is calling on people who are vaccine-resistant to get over it.
But public health units in areas hit hard by the highly infectious disease said it's impossible to tell if that's happening because short-term data on measles shots is not immediately available in Ontario's public health system.
'This is a vaccine that has literally existed in the province of Ontario for five decades and when you have two shots you are almost 100 per cent protected. Think about that,'
Jones
said Tuesday.
'All of us are deeply concerned when we hear of individuals who, for any number of reasons, have chosen not to get vaccinated, some because of allergies, some because of religious and other reasons. It impacts us,' she added.
'This is an opportunity for all of us to understand that our actions have an impact on other people.'
The infant who died was born prematurely and was infected in utero through a mother who had not been vaccinated. The newborn was also dealing with other serious health complications.
There were renewed calls for Premier Doug Ford's government to step up efforts to fight measles and encourage shots, after Ontario's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kieran Moore on Thursday, revealed the fatality last Thursday.
However, for now, health units can't tell if the infant's death has spurred more interest in shots, which cannot be taken during pregnancy.
'We do not have the ability to pull real-time data on vaccination uptake over a short window like this, unfortunately,' Southwestern Public Health, where the infant's death occurred, said in a statement to the Star.
The health unit is based in St. Thomas to serve Elgin and Oxford counties.
'The majority of vaccination uptake remains at the primary care level, and without a provincial vaccine registry with real-time data, there is no system currently available that can provide this information,' the statement added.
Chatham-Kent Public Health said it is also in the dark.
'At present, we do not have data available to assess any shifts in public sentiment regarding the measles vaccine,' said spokesperson Jacquie Cartwright.
With the province acknowledging last week there have been six cases of congenital infection in the more than 2,000 cases reported in the province since last October, New Democrat MPP Robin Lennox (Hamilton Centre) said Tuesday the province needs a vaccine registry 'that would help us know who is most vulnerable and where to direct our resources.'
The rising infection level shows the government's approach of telling people to see their family doctor or reach out to their local public health unit is not working, Lennox, a family physician, told the Star's Kristin Rushowy last week.
'Obviously, something has broken down, because the advice has been the same for many, many years and this is the only time where we've seen this kind of an outbreak in literally 30 years.'
Public health units have held pop-up clinics near schools and churches since the outbreak began. Many of the current cases can be
traced to a Mennonite wedding in New Brunswick last fall.
Measles had been considered eradicated in Ontario for two decades.