A new poll suggests nearly 70 per cent of Canadians support mandatory childhood vaccinations, but at least one public health official says she\u2019s uncomfortable with the idea of forcing parents to immunize their kids.<\/p>\n
The Angus Reid Institute survey landed Thursday as Public Health Ontario said 93 new measles cases have emerged in the province over the past week, bringing the total number of infections there to 1,888 since October.<\/p>\n
The poll found 69 per cent of respondents said proof of immunization should be required for kids to attend daycare and school. That\u2019s an increase from the 55 per cent of respondents who said the same thing last year, before a measles outbreak emerged in multiple provinces and infected mostly unvaccinated infants, kids and teens.<\/p>\n
Dr. Sarah Wilson said she\u2019s a strong advocate for immunization but also feels it\u2019s better to let families come to these decisions on their own terms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s really challenging to establish trust in vaccination and trust in public health if we\u2019re forcing interventions, including vaccination on individuals,\u201d said Wilson, a medical epidemiologist at Public Health Ontario.<\/p>\n
Proof of vaccination is mandatory for kids to attend school in Ontario and New Brunswick, unless they have a valid exemption, but that\u2019s not the case in other provinces, says the Angus Reid report.<\/p>\n
The percentage of poll respondents who favoured proof of vaccination was slightly lower than the national rate in Alberta, at 60 per cent, but higher than the 48 per cent of Albertans who supported a mandate last year.<\/p>\n
In Alberta, 26 new cases of measles were confirmed on Thursday alone, bringing the provincial total to 654 cases since the beginning of March.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A new poll suggests nearly 70 per cent of Canadians support mandatory childhood vaccinations, but at least one public health official says she\u2019s uncomfortable with the idea of forcing parents to immunize their kids.<\/p>\n
The Angus Reid Institute survey landed Thursday as Public Health Ontario said 93 new measles cases have emerged in the province over the past week, bringing the total number of infections there to 1,888 since October.<\/p>\n
The poll found 69 per cent of respondents said proof of immunization should be required for kids to attend daycare and school. That\u2019s an increase from the 55 per cent of respondents who said the same thing last year, before a measles outbreak emerged in multiple provinces and infected mostly unvaccinated infants, kids and teens.<\/p>\n