BC childhood vaccination rates drop as public records are delayed by four years

The BC Center for Disease Control (BCCDC) reports a drop in childhood vaccination rates; however, it has not updated the public with vaccination data in more than 40 months, prompting concern from one public health researcher.

“This is public health’s bread and butter, and public health needs to be based on good, publicly available data — that’s really the foundation of public health,” said the researcher. of health policy at Simon Fraser University and PhD candidate Andrew Longhurst.

The agency routinely updates the Childhood Immunization Safety Dashboard annually, informing the public of rates across each health area.

In 2020, the latest vaccination deadline the agency announced, 69 percent of seven-year-olds were fully vaccinated against diseases — such as polio, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, meningococcal C and hepatitis B – other. longer in developed countries due to mass vaccination.

In December 2022, the agency announced that it would update the dashboard soon, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused administrative delays.

Now, only 66 percent of the children are still there, according to agency spokeswoman Heather Amos, who was able to provide Glacier Media with a province-wide figure.

And, Amos said, for those who are at term, “a large proportion are undocumented” and “the number of children with documented refusal of all vaccines remains stable, at about more than only one percent.”

BCCDC chief medical officer Jason Wong and Health Minister Adrian Dix both declined to speak to Glacier Media about the 40-month delay in publicly available data.

“If we’re not following the right path, we’re at a point where we’re seeing a lot of the germs and germs that we used to contain and control are starting to come back. in our schools and in childcare centers.”

Longhurst also said the increase in undocumented children is a sign of BC’s broken health care system.

“It’s amazing that by 2024 the province doesn’t have a central dashboard to look at all vaccination rates,” said Longhurst, noting that if a child is vaccinated by a family doctor it doesn’t show up in public health records.

“We have a huge problem with electronic health records; we don’t have that basic function,” added Longhurst.

However, Longhurst obtained a chart of the latest school immunization data for Vancouver Coastal Health.

That chart shows a 4.9 percent vaccine deficit in 2022/2023 for Grade 6 students, compared to 2.2 percent in 2018/2019. (This includes children who may have been vaccinated but records have not been provided.)

Amos noted that public health workers are getting the latest vaccination data in each community.

“Although the reports are not yet included on the website, health partners can access the findings for planning purposes. “There has been a huge effort since the outbreak to catch children who missed routine vaccinations early in the outbreak when schools were closed and health workers prioritized the response to COVID-19,” the said Amos. No explanation as to why the full data has not been released has been provided.

But Longhurst says it’s important for the public health system to publish reports and do so in a timely manner.

“The public’s interest is best served when they know what is going on in their community,” said Longhurst.

“I think we’ve seen this play out with the COVID-19 pandemic. And sometimes there was a reluctance to share that because of, for a variety of reasons.

“But I think, you know, for people, for families and individuals, especially those who may have family members who are dealing with various health conditions or maybe children who are not sure, this is important information.”

Longhurst expressed concern about vaccine misinformation that continues to spread online, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; and said he is concerned about public health officials in BC not taking a strong position, with a clear way to update the dashboard as an indicator.

“I think one of the problems we see is a reluctance to talk or advocate for school-based vaccination clinics because of the potential distraction,” said Longhurst.

When Amos answered Glacier Media’s questions, he emphasized the benefits of routine vaccinations and how parents can help: “Vaccines protect children against diseases that can cause serious illness, long-term disability, and even death. Before we start the next school year, we encourage parents to make sure their children know all the recommended vaccinations. Parents and guardians should also check that their children’s vaccination records are up-to-date in the provincial immunization record and submit any missing records to the registry.”

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