Is the UCP anti-science?

Measles cases on the rise in Alberta

Measles is a disease that should have been eradicated in a country like Canada. We have a safe, effective, and free vaccination program that prevents against measles. While it would be expected that some cases may end up in Canada via international travelers, it’s shocking that the spread of measles that’s happening in Alberta (and other parts of Canada) is even possible.

I’ve learned a lot about measles this week! It’s been around for awhile so there is tons of good quality information from reliable sources about measles. Measles is a pernicious disease. What starts as a fever and rash can lead to serious health complications including hearing loss, pneumonia, or encephalitis. Children younger than 5 and pregnant women have very high risk for serious complications from a measles infection. The majority of measles related deaths are kids. Given that the first dose of the measles vaccine isn’t administered until kids are a year old, protecting babies from measles exposure is critical.

I’ll admit that before COVID, I didn’t think too much about the risk factors of disease transmission. I was born in Canada so the standard childhood immunization schedule meant I never had to think much about it. The common cold felt inevitable but I knew I had protection against the serious illnesses. One of the scariest thing about measles is how easy it is to transmit. Around 90% of people who haven’t had measles or a measles vaccine will become infected when exposed to the measles virus. And the measles virus loves to hang around. It’s an airborne virus and it can remain in an area for up to two hours after the infected individual has left. An infectious person is infectious for days both before and after their rash appears.

Okay, I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t know. Measles is bad news. The worse news is Alberta’s vaccination rates. In 2019, Alberta’s MMR vaccination rate was 86.5%. Six years later that number has plummeted to 69.3%. Because measles is so highly infectious, we need to see vaccination rates of 95% for true “herd immunity”.

Today, Dr. Mark Joffe (the recently resigned CMOH) published a Postmedia op-ed all about measles. He urged parents to get the safe, effective MMR vaccine. One wonders why our Chief Medical Officer of Health, the top doc tasked with guiding public health efforts in Alberta, was silent for so many long weeks as measles spread across our province. Why is he only speaking out now that he resigned his post? Was he directed to stay silent about the measles outbreak, clearly a high priority public health concern? I don’t know.

What I do know is that with vaccination rates as low as they are, the UCP should have been shouting from the rooftops about the threat of measles for weeks now. We should have public health campaigns. We should have information circulated widely about the safety, efficacy, and easy availability of the MMR vaccine to protect against this terrible disease.

Instead we got a silent CMOH and a Health Minister who refused to recommend the vaccine, instead saying that it was an option for parents. The science is clear on the measles vaccine which has been used to effectively prevent measles for 60 years. When the Health Minister says she wants Alberta families to have “the information they need to make good choices”, what does she mean?

The evidence is clear and the recommendation for vaccination should be equally clear. Leaning into vaccine hesitancy and misinformation might win them votes while anti-vaccine sentiment are in vogue, but the UCP should really consider the lives that will be lost in their pursuit of power and control.

cover photo credit- CTV News, Apr 2025.