{"id":56686,"date":"2015-07-22T21:40:59","date_gmt":"2015-07-22T13:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=56686"},"modified":"2015-07-22T21:40:59","modified_gmt":"2015-07-22T13:40:59","slug":"immunization-rates-for-canadian-toddlers-sub-optimal-say-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2015\/07\/22\/immunization-rates-for-canadian-toddlers-sub-optimal-say-experts\/","title":{"rendered":"Immunization rates for Canadian toddlers \u2018sub optimal,\u2019 say experts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TORONTO \u2013 A high percentage of two-year-old kids have been vaccinated against a variety of childhood diseases, according to a Statistics Canada survey, but some immunization rates still fall below what\u2019s considered optimal.<\/p>\n

The 2013 Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey released Tuesday found that 89 per cent of two-year-olds had received the recommended immunization against measles, mumps and rubella, while 77 per cent had all their shots for diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus.<\/p>\n

Uptake of the polio vaccine was 91 per cent and 73 per cent of kids had been inoculated against chickenpox, the survey of 5,500 parents and guardians found.<\/p>\n

The survey also collected data on immunization against the human papilloma virus for girls aged 12 to 14 and 17. The HPV vaccination rate was 72 per cent for 12- to 14-year-olds and 64 per cent for 17-year-olds. HPV is a sexually transmitted infection that causes most cervical cancers, as well as some other genital cancers in both women and men.<\/p>\n

The survey also found that a small proportion of Canadian children \u2013 1.5 per cent \u2013 had never received immunizations of any kind.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are really sub-optimal,\u201d Dr. Joan Robinson, an infectious disease specialist at Stollery Children\u2019s Hospital in Edmonton, said of the overall vaccination rates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we would like to see is about 90 per cent uptake for all of the vaccines…. That\u2019s the rate that you usually need to get decent herd immunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herd immunity occurs when enough individuals in a given population have immunity through vaccination or previous exposure, which confers protection to those who aren\u2019t immunized by preventing a contagious bacteria or virus from setting up a chain of infection.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for measles, because it\u2019s so contagious, we think that even 95 per cent immunization might be what (we) would need to prevent spread if a case is introduced into a community,\u201d said Robinson.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery few\u201d children, she said, can\u2019t be vaccinated \u2013 typically because of a suppressed immune system from being on chemotherapy or drugs that prevent organ rejection, for instance. Having a 90 per cent coverage rate usually means such children benefit from herd immunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut almost all of the children can be immunized and should be immunized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Gregory Taylor, Canada\u2019s chief public health officer, said that with 5,500 respondents the survey about children\u2019s vaccination status is the largest ever commissioned by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The previous survey in 2011 involved 400 parents and guardians.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a huge amount of information,\u201d he said Tuesday. \u201cSo the numbers that have gone out so far are preliminary. They\u2019re highlights. We\u2019re going to spend a great deal of time in the next little while doing further analysis of the data.\u201d<\/p>\n

That analysis will look at vaccination data for seven-year-olds, which was also collected by Statistics Canada for PHAC.<\/p>\n

Besides compiling immunization rates, the survey also asked respondents questions aimed at assessing their knowledge about vaccines and attitudes toward their use \u2013 information Taylor called \u201creally interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most respondents agreed that childhood vaccines are important for children\u2019s health (97 per cent); that childhood vaccines are effective (97 per cent); and that vaccines are safe (95 per cent).<\/p>\n

\u201cBut on the flip side, we\u2019ve got 70 per cent of parents who are concerned about potential side-effects (and) 37 per cent believe a vaccine can give you a serious case of the disease it was meant to prevent, which is just not true,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd 17 per cent believe that alternative practices such as homeopathy, chiropractic, etcetera, can eliminate the need for vaccinations. Seventeen per cent! That\u2019s just not true \u2013 there are no substitutes for vaccines.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor said such information can help inform public health efforts to improve childhood vaccination rates in Canada, which he said are good but acknowledged could be better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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