60% of Canadians think kids should get the measles vaccine, even if parents object

Seven in 10 Canadians think all children should be required to get the measles vaccine unless they are prohibited for medical reasons.

Ipsos’s latest poll shows that 59% (six in 10) Canadians think children should be vaccinated against measles, even if their parents personally object to vaccinations.

According to the survey, older adults are more likely to believe children should be vaccinated.

Canadians over the age of 55 (72%) are the most likely to think that children should be required to get the measles vaccination even if their parents personally object, the poll says.

That's compared to half of Canadians aged 18-34 (52%) and 35-54 (51%) believing the same.

However, when it comes to Canadians with children in their household, only three in ten or 31% think kids should not be required to get the measles vaccinated, compared to one in five (20%) of Canadians with no children in their home.

“Two thirds of adults say they are vaccinated against the measles, and two thirds of parents say their children are vaccinated against the measles,” the poll says.

“One in ten do not know if their children are vaccinated. Two in ten say their children are not vaccinated and while 15% plan to get them vaccinated, 6% do not.”

According to the BC Centre for Disease Control, 79.9% of BC children at the age of seven had been vaccinated against measles in 2020.

For two year olds, MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccinations were at 85.8% in 2020.

The Canadian Centre for Disease Control says kids get two doses of the MMR vaccine, usually at 12-15 months and again between the ages of four and six.

Ipsos carried out the survey between Mar. 15 and 18.

It asked questions of 1,000 Canadian adults.

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Thumbnail photo credit: 123rf