The overall vaccination rate of Albertans is around 81 per cent, according to research conducted in 2017. While many might think that number sufficient to ensure protection, it isn't. In fact, it falls well below the national vaccination targets and is below the threshold of what is commonly known as herd immunity.
Herd immunity is the ability for a population to protect itself from disease accounting for those who are immune suppressed, or are unable to be vaccinated. Herd immunity protects those latter type demographics from contracting a disease.
Alberta and Canada's inability to meet those thresholds is what puts people at risk and why cases of the measles continue to crop up.
Last year, Canada recorded 29 cases of measles. While that might seem low and nothing to worry about, consider that in the first three months of 2019 there have already been 19 cases of the disease, compared to only three from the same time last year.
In New York state where vaccination rates are 20 per cent lower, 225 cases of measles were reported following a recent outbreak.
These outbreaks have something in common, they originated overseas where many regions are experiencing massive outbreaks of the disease that began climbing in 2017.
In Europe, 80 000 people contracted measles in 2018 according to the World Health Organization. The number of infections was three times the total reported in 2017 - 23,927 cases - and 15 times the record low recorded in 2016 - 5,273 cases. That excludes the thousands of cases in non-European nations.
There are those who think the risk is overblown and remember times when parents threw disease parties to infect children in an effort to build immunity. In 2017, 110,000 people worldwide died from measles – mostly children under the age of 5 years. While many of those cases were in countries where malnutrition and there is poor access to health care, people in Canada and the US are not guaranteed to recover.
One or two out of every 1,000 children in Canada or the US will die from measles. Obviously with the number of cases in the country being so low, that means the risk of death is not high, but complacency is the true danger right now. Whether it's due to fear of vaccinations, or just simply feeling too comfortable, vaccination rates are dropping and Canada and Alberta sits below what is considered the herd immunity rate of 90 per cent.
In Europe, where vaccination rates had fallen much more, but are now back on the rise, 79 people died in 2018.
If you are one to scoff at that death rate and would be willing to roll the dice, try to remember you're gambling with other's lives too. Taking the time to ensure you and your children are vaccinated is part of being a responsible member of your community.
One death from a preventable disease is too many.
