Good morning.

Alberta said this week that it plans to broaden its campaign about measles and immunization as the province deals with a widening outbreak of the highly contagious virus.

The message is simple, Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said: “Don‘t get measles; get immunized.”

As of Thursday, there have been 313 total cases of the virus in Alberta, with 23 of those considered to be active and 290 that are past the period of communicability.

Measles has seen a resurgence across the globe, with cases in Canada centred in Ontario, where there have been over 1,400 people who have been infected, and Alberta. The outbreak began last fall with a travel-related case in New Brunswick.

Like Alberta, Ontario is ramping up its own awareness campaign.

Measles immunization coverage has been declining across the country in recent years, and public health officials have warned that things could get worse in the months ahead. A new risk assessment from the Public Health Agency of Canada says the country‘s outbreak is the largest since the virus was declared eliminated in 1998.

“If the current chain of transmission continues beyond October, 2025, Canada could lose its elimination status,” the report said based on April data.

“Prolonged transmission reflects gaps in population immunity, often due to limited access to or uptake of vaccines, and can lead to preventable illness, long-term complications, and death, especially in vulnerable groups.”

LaGrange said the current campaign to encourage Albertans to receive immunizations has shown some success, but she said more needs to be done, including expanded efforts on social media.

The province does plan to offer additional immunization appointments and ramp up advertisements on radio, print and digital platforms.

Dr. Sunil Sookram, Alberta’s Interim Chief Medical Officer of Health who stepped into the role after Dr. Mark Joffe left last month, said Monday that measles is preventable and that the vaccine to protect against it is safe.

As The Globe and Mail argued in an editorial this week, more needs to be done.

A study from last year found that the percentage of Canadian children getting their first dose of the MMR vaccine (two doses are required) has been falling to levels well below the 95 per cent needed to sustain measles elimination. The study found that between 2019 and 2023, immunization fell to 82.5 per cent from 89.5 per cent in five provinces.

“This has now come back to haunt Canada,” the Editorial Board argued. “Instead of taking action when it was apparent that vaccination rates were falling, Ontario and Alberta health officials are stuck with desperately pleading with parents to protect their children – and other people’s children – by getting them vaccinated."

Only time will tell whether renewed awareness campaigns in both provinces will be successful, but the solution to the problem is clear - vaccination.

This is the weekly Alberta newsletter written by Alberta Bureau Chief Mark Iype. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.