28% of kindergarten students in N.B. fail to meet immunization requirements
More than a quarter of kindergarten students in New Brunswick did not meet the immunization requirements to enter public school in the 2023-24 school year, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health. Out of the total kindergarten students, only 71.8 percent provided proof of full immunization against nine diseases including measles, mumps, and meningococcal disease, as required under the Public Health Act. This means that nearly 2,000 four- and five-year-olds did not meet the immunization requirements.
These vaccination rates are a decrease from the previous school year, where 73.9 percent of kindergarten students were fully immunized, but an improvement from the 61.4 percent in the year before that. The report does not provide vaccination rates for older students, and neither department responded to requests for those figures.
New Brunswick is currently facing the largest measles outbreak recorded in several decades, with fifty confirmed cases of the highly infectious respiratory disease. All of these cases can be traced back to an initial case reported in October, involving a person who had recently traveled internationally. The outbreak has affected individuals who were either unvaccinated, immunocompromised, or had never had measles before. More than 80 percent of the infected individuals in New Brunswick are under the age of 19.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be transmitted through the air or direct contact with an infected person’s secretions. The virus can linger in the air for hours, and one infected person can spread it to nine out of ten unprotected individuals around them. New Brunswick accounts for 31 percent of the measles cases across Canada this year, with Quebec and Ontario reporting 41 percent and 26 percent of the cases, respectively.
The current measles outbreak in New Brunswick is directly linked to low immunization rates among the population. Ian Culbert, the executive director of the Canadian Public Health Association, emphasized the importance of vaccines in preventing such outbreaks. The national immunization target is 95 percent by 2025 to achieve herd immunity and prevent the spread of diseases like measles.
In New Brunswick, district superintendents have the authority to refuse admission to students who do not provide proof of required immunizations, unless they have a medical exemption or a signed parental objection. Students with incomplete records may be admitted if they have received at least the first vaccine of a series within the previous six months, but they must receive the remaining doses within 120 days.
The Department of Education and the Department of Health are working to improve vaccination uptake among students, but the report suggests that the absence of records does not necessarily mean a child is unvaccinated. It may be due to non-submission by parents or guardians, and recent population increases among children entering kindergarten may artificially lower reported coverage rates.
Proof of immunization for certain diseases has been a requirement for children entering New Brunswick public schools since 1982. The current required vaccines include measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, and meningococcal disease. Horizon Health is offering free vaccination clinics in the Fredericton region to ensure that eligible individuals receive the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. These efforts are crucial in preventing further spread of the measles outbreak and protecting the health of the community.
