More than 90 per cent of kindergarten-aged children in Richmond have received their full course of immunizations — the highest rate across the Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) region.
Measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, meningococcal and hepatitis B; you name it, they’ve got it. For measles alone, 94 per cent of children aged four to six in Richmond received their full course of immunizations in 2013-14. By Grade 6, the numbers still hold steady.
However, when it comes to school-by-school vaccinations, a few anomalies have left local health officials mystified.
At James Gilmore elementary in West Richmond and Sea Island elementary, for example, only 47 and 56 per cent of kindergarten students respectively are up to date with their immunizations.
The BC Muslim School and Mitchell elementary are only slightly higher at 67 and 69 per cent respectively.
“We are scratching our heads with this and we are going to need to look into it,” said Richmond’s chief medical health officer Dr. James Lu.
“It wasn’t like this last year, so I’m not sure what has happened. It’s all a bit of a puzzle to us; perhaps it’s because we didn’t get all of the records?
“Sea Island is a relatively small school, so the number of students is probably very low. It wouldn’t take too much to affect the percentages.”
As to why Richmond generally enjoys a higher rate of immunization in the VCH region compared to other areas, Lu said he wasn’t certain, but pointed to the high volume of new immigrants inhabiting the city.
“People from other parts of the world perhaps have more experience of certain vaccines,” said Lu.
“And I remember, growing up in Taiwan, playing with children who had polio and I recall one playmate who died of (Japanese encephalitis). The effects of seeing these diseases up close leaves something on you. With North American families, in general, they don’t see a lot of those things; ‘What’s all the fuss about’ is the general feeling.”
Lu said Richmond also has a “very dedicated set of family physicians” who “really get on top of this.”
A letter from Dr. James Lu, medical health officer to Richmond parents:
May 5, 2015
Dear Editor:
RE: VCH thanks parents in Richmond for immunizing their children
With recent media attention centred on measles outbreaks and childhood immunization rates in BC, Richmond parents should be congratulated for ensuring their children are protected in impressive numbers against preventable disease.
Vancouver Coastal Health tracks childhood immunization rates across its Communities of Care. In Richmond in 2013-14, more than 90 per cent of Kindergarten-aged children received their full course of immunizations for measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, meningococcal, and Hepatitis B. For measles alone, a full 94 per cent of children aged 4 to 6 in Richmond have received their immunization. By grade six, the numbers still hold steady.
These are the highest childhood immunization rates found anywhere in Vancouver Coastal Health.
While Richmond’s childhood immunization story is mainly positive, there still remains room for improvement. Specifically, school-by-school uptake remains somewhat variable, ranging from 47 to 100 per cent. Although herd immunity is not compromised at these uptake levels, it remains VCH Richmond’s goal to immunize as many children as possible across all school communities.
Thanks to vaccines, smallpox has been eradicated; parents in the Western Hemisphere no longer worry about their children coming down with polio each summer, as they did in the 1950’s; and today’s medical graduates no longer fear cases of epiglottitis and meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), as I did in my early years of practice.
While the media spotlight continues to shine on the need for childhood immunization, we can all do our part to continue to spread the success of immunizations. Here’s what you can do to help:
1. Parents can make sure their children’s vaccinations are up-to-date –
a. check here for the schedule of free vaccines: http://www.immunizebc.ca/vaccine-schedules
b. check here for additional vaccines that you can purchase to offer more protection to your children: http://www.vch.ca/media/VCH-vaccines-NACI-2015.pdf
2. Adults shouldn’t forget about immunizations – for example, young adults may need a measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) booster, and shingles vaccine can be offered to everyone aged 50 years and older. Check here for vaccines that are available for free and purchase: http://www.vch.ca/media/VCH-public-and-private-vaccines-adult.pdf
3. All of you planning on travelling outside North America or Europe this spring and summer should visit a travel clinic for pre-travel advice and vaccination: http://travelclinic.vch.ca/
Sincerely,
Dr. James Lu
Medical Health Officer, VCH Richmond
604-233-5623
