Mandatory vaccines for public school students not being considered on P.E.I.

P.E.I.'s Education Department says it has no plans to follow New Brunswick's lead and move toward banning unvaccinated students from its public schools. 

In an interview with CBC this week, New Brunswick's education minister vowed to crack down on immunizations, insisting that students won't be allowed through public school doors without "their vaccine cards to prove that they are not a risk to themselves or others in the school system."

Those comments came as the Saint John, N.B., area battles a measles outbreak, with nine confirmed cases, most of them linked to a high school. 

Island parents concerned

Some parents on P.E.I. have said they're hoping the provincial government takes the same stance against unvaccinated students. 

"It's good if they make it mandatory before they get into school, because it protects my kids as well as other kids too," said Vijila Suja, mother to a three-year-old and a one-month-old, who is too young to receive a dose of the measles vaccine. 

Nancy Hood, who has a seven-month-old, shares these concerns. 

"[My son] is too young at the moment to get the vaccination, so if [others] don't vaccinate their kids, well he's at risk too, right?" she said. 

"If you don't want to vaccinate your kids, that's fine, but there's other options. There's private school, there's homeschooling. But with it being public school, I think it should be mandatory, absolutely," Hood said. 

'Not being considered'

But in an email to CBC, a spokesperson for P.E.I.'s Education Department said "mandatory vaccination is not currently being considered on P.E.I."

The department pointed to the fact that in the 2017-18 school year, without it being a requirement, 95.3 per cent of Grade 1 students had received the measles vaccine.

The spokesperson said that meets the threshold of 95 per cent "for herd immunity to work."

'Years since last confirmed measles case'

Last week, public health officials on P.E.I. said it's been years since there's been a confirmed measles case on the Island. 

Still, both Suja and Hood agree the outbreak in New Brunswick has them worried. 

"I feel scared really," Suja said. 

"With the outbreaks that are so close, it is scary to think," added Hood. "It's New Brunswick, and it may not take so much for it to cross that bridge."

According to health officials a memo has gone out to staff at Island hospitals reminding them of what they need to watch for if someone does come in with symptoms of measles. 

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