March break travellers urged to check measles vaccination status

The countdown to March break is on – but the excitement is also being met with concern.

Public health officials are worried about travellers returning home with measles.

It comes as thousands of Waterloo Region students face suspension if they don’t update their vaccination status.

To find out what travellers and parents should know, CTV News spoke to two public health officials

How contagious is measles?

The virus is highly contagious.

“Measles has a reproduction number ranging from 12 to 18, which means that on average, a person who is infected with measles can go around infecting 18 persons,” explained Zahid Butt, a professor at the UW School of Public Health.

It spreads easily and, theoretically, easy to stop with a highly effective vaccine.

“Vaccine coverage of around like 95% is required to, basically you could say, stop the transmission of the virus,” Butt added.

Where have measles cases been reported?

As of Tuesday, seventeen cases of measles have been confirmed in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia — more than half of those are in the Montreal area.

Butt said there’s also been outbreaks in Europe and recently in Florida.

When to get a booster

With schools out next week for March break, public health officials are asking travellers to check if they need a booster.

“Even if it is late, last minute, it's better to get the vaccine than to not to get the vaccine at all,” said David Aoki, director of infectious diseases for the Region of Waterloo.

Adults unsure if they should get a booster are asked to contact their primary care provider.

“It's not like COVID or the flu vaccine where you need a booster. Once you're up to date on your on your measles immunization, you're good for a long, long term,” Aoki explained.

Vaccination record update

Currently, thousands of elementary students are facing suspension if they don’t update their vaccine status by March 27.

Last month, Region of Waterloo Public Health announced 18,643 students were on notice of suspension. As of this week, that number is down to 10,000.

"What we would say to parents is don't wait till the day before. Don't wait till March 26, March 25, because it's going to be really busy those days,” Aoki said.

Detailed information on how to update your child’s vaccination record is available here.