With kids returning to the classroom next week, the province is reminding you to ensure your child\u2019s vaccination records are up to date.<\/p>\n
The fall typically sees a jump in cases of COVID-19, RSV and the flu. You can add the measles to the mix. There are more than 200 confirmed or suspected cases so far this year in the province. That\u2019s something Dr. Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre, tells 1130 NewsRadio, is not common.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a year we haven\u2019t seen in pretty much a generation. I think what we\u2019ve seen is, over time, the rate of full vaccination go from 90 per cent or higher, to the 60s, to low 70s, and this is not adequate to protect the entire population over time. We need to get back to where we were. The second shot is due before children begin school in earnest, and we need to have a great effort this school year to show the way going forward. If we get it right this year, we\u2019ll get it right every year going forward, and within a few years, we will have caught,\u201d said Conway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He adds it\u2019s important to get any shots now before they re-enter bustling classrooms and spend more time with others indoors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is certainly an excellent time to be getting that. If they\u2019ve had a [measles] shot when they were one, this will now provide them with the lifelong immunity that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a year we haven\u2019t seen in pretty much a generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The flu vaccine isn\u2019t available just yet in B.C., but it is free for most people and easily available at any pharmacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll probably be out sometime between Labour Day and Thanksgiving, and at that point, I think entire families should get vaccinated together. We need to vaccinate 50 per cent of the general population \u2014 70 to 80 per cent of those at highest risk. We fell below that last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conway is encouraging the public to get both the flu and the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there will be a new vaccine, both Pfizer and Moderna have said there will be an updated vaccine in the fall. Here, it\u2019ll be very important to vaccinate those at highest risk of severe COVID and to selectively vaccinate the rest of the population.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says if you\u2019re on the fence about getting the shot, don\u2019t lean into misinformation; rather, ask a medical professional.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake sure that you\u2019re getting answers that are based in fact and not based on assumptions that are essentially made up on social media. Vaccines have been the most significant public health advance of the last two generations. They save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Martin Lavoie, BC\u2019s deputy public health officer, says kids under 18 are eligible for publicly funded vaccines against more than a dozen diseases, including measles, chickenpox and polio.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchool-age children are routinely offered the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in Grade 6, and tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis and meningitis vaccines in Grade 9 at clinics held in schools. They can also get vaccinated at health units, community health centres, some doctors\u2019 and nurse-practitioners\u2019 offices and some pharmacies,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
The first day of school for many kids in B.C. is Sept. 3rd.<\/p>\n
\u2014With files from Anthony Atanasov<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With kids returning to the classroom next week, the province is reminding you to ensure your child\u2019s vaccination…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":96157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-96156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}