The B.C. health minister is considering the introduction of a mandatory vaccination registration program in the wake of a measles outbreak in Vancouver.
Adrian Dix, speaking on Thursday, said the system would be designed to increase the proportion of residents in the province who are protected from the disease.
“While there are some people who are expressing opposition to immunization, and others who can’t be immunized for medical reasons, some people simply fall through the cracks of the system,” he said.
“We want to make it harder for that to happen. So action is coming.”
Dix did not say a plan was in place or when one might be announced, but he did explain that some of the groundwork has already been done.
The idea of a vaccination records registry had been contemplated after an outbreak of 343 cases of measles in B.C.’s Fraser Valley region in 2014.
Meanwhile, Dix said, “the message is for parents to immunize (their children).”
There have been nine confirmed cases of measles in Vancouver in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, 33 children and staff at the two measles-affected Vancouver schools were ordered to stay home until at least March 7 because they either hadn’t been vaccinated or weren’t able to provide proof of immunization.
Dix said that provincial medical officers of health have the authority to exclude children and adults without vaccination proof from schools.
With files from the Canadian Press
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