This is interesting, because it shows that vaccination rates have gone down in another first world country besides the US. The linked article says it was started in a religious community (similar to where our outbreaks typically start in the US).
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Another article from CNN.
"At least 2,755 measles cases have been reported in Canada so far this year, according to federal data that was last updated on Monday, the vast majority of those which have been in Ontario residents.
And the US has reported at least 1,168 measles cases so far this year, according to federal data published Friday"
The US has 9 times the population of Canada.
As measles spreads across the Americas, outbreaks in Mexico and Canada have also turned deadly | CNN
Interestingly, I find very llttle mention of this in the Canadian online media.
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The US already requires vaccines for those entering on Visas. Perhaps itâs (long past) time to require proof of vaccines for all visitors into the US.
Hardly going to happen given latest newsâŠ
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The Mennonite community in Ontario eschews vaccines. This outbreak has extended to Michigan because relatives visited Ontario and returned with measles.
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Iâm going to guess Canada is counting/reporting cases better as well. Given the number of hospitalizations/deaths in the US cases are almost certainly way undercounted (i.e., milder cases are not seeking medical diagnosis). That said vaccine hesitancy is a prevalent in many countries these days.
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I donât know about âcountingâ measles in Canada but there is virtually no reporting of this outbreak in the Canadian online media. Most of the coverage I have found is in the Guardian, CNN and Al Jazeera!
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Seems that there are lots of stories on cbc.ca , but they do not seem to be given prominence by the usual search engines.
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I thought this was an interesting article. It tells several stories about individuals involved in these outbreaks. Gift link.
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Canât say everything I want to say, but this makes me so angry!
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Hm, I got a call which I let go to voicemail because I wasnât sure if it was a scam, but itâs legit. The voicemail left an option to call back or do a web response.
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As of July 9, 2025, there have been 1,288 measles cases in the US this year. 162 (13%) required hospitalization, 3 have died.
This is a record high going back three decades.
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Yeah, and you know what anti-vaxxers are saying? That the child developed SSPE as a result of the vaccine that he/she took when eligible! These people are unbelievable.
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I have been following a very useful âexplainerâ on substack called Your Local Epidemiologist. There is lots of helpful information about what rules and regulations mean for everyday people, along with explanations of what all the acronyms/committees meet and do. Fair warning that it is not sympathetic to anti-vaxxers. This week the ACIP committee will meet and YLE has been explaining how that works, who these people are, and what to expect from their rulings and media coverage.
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This newsletter is a great site for evidence-based information. I follow the local NYC one as well, as we live pretty near the city though in NJ.
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Possible exposures at OâHare airport on 9/11
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30ish years ago when my kids were young, Colorado had the ability to not get kids vaccinated just by signing the waiver. Not religious, just a waiver. Many pediatricians would not allow them in their practices. My experience was the âmainâ ones (4-15 pediatricians) all excluded non-vaccinated kids from their practices. Of course there were doctors who did allow the parents to sign waiver, but they may not have been the most convenient ones to the parentsâ homes or use the preferred hospitals. Exception was Boulder that had a lot of anti-vaxxers, but at the time only had 2 hospitals and those werenât a childrenâs hospital.
If a waiver was signed, and there was an outbreak of anything at the school (MMR, câpox, whooping cough) you were out of school until the outbreak cleared, and that could be months.
I feel bad for the kids excluded from both good medical care and school, but not bad enough to expose my kids.
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I was delighted when my kidâs practice switched from âWe treat everyoneâ to âwe do not allow families whose kids are medically eligible for vaccines to opt outâ. My kids were beyond pediatricians by then, but sitting in that waiting room with another kid hacking away was always nerve wracking. The doctorâs POV at the time was that they could convince even the most reluctant parents to vaccinate (which to be fair- they had a great track record of doing) if they didnât demonize them and send them off to some herbal quack who peddled apricot pits or something. But it got too messy to handle and the grapevine said that the nurses were the ones who persuaded the practice to change.
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