More than 400 Manitoba infants got measles vaccine since eligibility expanded: province

Dave Baxter · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 14, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

More than 400 children nether the property of 1 person received the measles vaccine successful Manitoba since the authorities expanded eligibility for the changeable past period owed to a increasing fig of cases. 

The state announced connected May 14 that infants betwixt the ages of six and 12 months aged surviving successful the Southern Health and the Interlake-Eastern wellness authorization regions would beryllium eligible to get the measles, mumps and rubella (or MMR) vaccine, as can those who question regularly oregon person adjacent interaction with radical successful those regions.

That eligibility was further expanded earlier this period to see infants who person been evacuated from their communities due to the fact that of ongoing wildfires successful Manitoba, and whitethorn beryllium staying successful confederate areas of the state that person seen outbreaks of the highly contagious disease. 

Before the state expanded the eligibility, kids six to 12 months aged could lone get 1 dose of the vaccine if they were travelling to a "measles-endemic country." 

On Friday, a provincial spokesperson confirmed that astir 450 infants betwixt the ages of six and 12-months aged successful Manitoba person received the MMR vaccine since May 14.

The state stressed that the 450 fig represents "preliminary data," and that there could beryllium much children vaccinated since May 14 whose information has not yet been entered into Manitoba's immunization registry. 

In the Southern Health region, which encompasses a ample country of confederate Manitoba, the wellness authorization confirmed that 104 MMR vaccinations person been fixed to children betwixt the ages of six and 12 months aged since the May eligibility expansion.

According to the province, the determination to grow the eligibility came owed to a increasing fig of cases of the highly infectious illness successful Manitoba recently. 

According to the astir caller provincial data, there person been 98 confirmed and 8 probable measles cases successful the state this year, arsenic of June 7.

In May alone, Manitoba reported 72 confirmed cases, portion determination were a further 7 confirmed measles cases and 4 probable cases during the archetypal week of June.

In an interview this week with CBC's Information Radio, Dr. Anna Banerji, a pediatric infectious illness specializer astatine the University of Toronto, said the rising fig of measles cases successful Canada is a superior concern, and peculiarly unsafe for large radical and for newborns.

"The hazard to a large pistillate is overmuch higher than to a non-pregnant mother, and the hazard of decease owed to measles successful a large parent is, like, tenfold higher," Banerji told host Marcy Markusa.

"So large women are hospitalized astatine higher rates."

According to Banerji, risks from measles to a large pistillate tin see pneumonia oregon hepatitis, which tin question to the encephalon and cause encephalitis — a unsafe inflammation of the encephalon that can, successful immoderate cases, pb to death. 

She added measles tin besides question straight into the placenta and infect unborn babies.

"Basically, the microorganism tin spell anyplace successful the body," Banerji said. 

That tin effect successful miscarriages, stillbirths and premature deliveries, and tin besides pb to the babe contracting pneumonia, arsenic good arsenic hepatitis and imaginable encephalon infections, she said.

She says anyone who whitethorn get large should get the vaccine, "just to forestall the risks successful pregnancy."

She besides says that aft the measles vaccine was introduced successful the 1960s, "we went from everyone getting it to astir cipher getting it."

"And truthful it happened successful the past — we tin bash it again. We conscionable request to get radical vaccinated."