A child under five years old has died of measles in Ontario, according to the province’s public health agency, the first such death in more than a decade.
In a report published Thursday, Public Health Ontario said the child was not vaccinated against the highly infectious respiratory virus. It did not indicate when or where the child died, or their age.
The report shows there were no other measles-related deaths recorded in the province between Jan. 1, 2013 and this week.
Measles has been on the rise in both Ontario and elsewhere in Canada as cases increase globally, particularly in Europe, which has seen tens of thousands of infections over the last year.
There is a lot of focus on whether this child should or even could have been vaccinated against measles. It is impossible to know based on the information. They were due for 0, 1 or 2 doses or MMR vaccine.
At any rate, I would suggest reading it in the other direction: no vaccinated child has died of the measles. Vaccination prevents this disaster. It is likely (but not certain) that many other children were in contact with the same situation which ultimately led to the death of this one. Many of them didn’t die because their parents took responsible steps.
In another comment I posted the vaccine schedule for Ontatio. MMR is scheduled at 12 months of age, same as many other places. Your first dose (of the two children need) is only considered “valid” if given on or after the 1st birthday.
However the vaccine is approved as safe and has short-term efficacy when given as young as 6 months. The immunity just doesn’t “last” as long when given earlier, which is why its scheduled for 12 months where risk is low. In those communities where anti-vax people congregate, diligent parents can consider giving their children an extra dose at 6 months to cut that risky time in half.