Community health centres in Central Zone increased access to measles vaccination as of Monday to help prevent the spread of the highly contagious disease.
A province-wide advertising campaign to raise immunization awareness will also be launched next week, and will be translated into over 14 languages.
Community health centres in Central Zone now have walk-in availability, including some with evening measles-specific clinics and additional Saturday availability.
On Monday, Alberta reported 55 new measles cases to bring the total number of cases since March to 265. A total of 42 people were infectious and could transmit the disease to others.
Central and South Zones continue to be the hardest hit. The South Zone saw a huge spike with 48 new cases to reach 154 over recent months. Both evening and weekend immunization appointments are now being added.
Three new cases were reported in Central Zone for a total of 75 this year.
"Most of the cases that we see in Central Zone are from the northeast area, that's the Two Hills, Vegreville area," said Dr. Ifeoma Achebe, Medical Officer of Health with Central Zone, Alberta Health Services (AHS).
She said a 95 per cent immunization rate is needed to prevent further spread, and immunization in the northeast area of the zone is at about 72 per cent.
"There's been some cooperation with the communities that are affected."
AHS has planned for and is ready to ramp up additional measles clinics across the province including extending hours at existing measles-specific clinics and opening additional clinic space, based on demand.
"We have started conversations about measles assessment and treatment centres. AHS and the (Health Ministry) have been working together to fine tune that plan," said Dr. Sunil Sookram, interim Chief Medical Officer of Health.
He added that the province will be prepared to launch the services when the threshold has been met.
So far a provincial measles outbreak has not been declared since outbreaks have been localized.
He said no measles-related deaths have been reported, and three people with the measles were in intensive care on the weekend.
Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said there would need to be ongoing increases in cases in every single zone for a provincial outbreak to be declared. The vast majority of cases are in the Central and South Zones, but what is concerning is that most cases are impacting children under the age of 18.
"Getting immunized against measles is the single most important thing you can do to protect your loved ones and yourself and your community, especially those young infants who have just come into the world and aren't able to be immunized, as well as pregnant women and those with certain immunocompromising conditions," LaGrange said.
Sookram said areas affected in the Central and South Zones are where vaccine coverage has fallen sometimes due to concerns about safety, sometimes due to cultural beliefs, sometimes due to misinformation.
"We're not here to judge or pressure. We know immunization decisions can be deeply personal, but we're here to support families with science-based information and to make sure people know where to go and what to do. The measles vaccine is safe, it's effective. We know this to be true because, according to recent studies, it has saved the lives of over 154 million people in the last half century, the vast majority of lives saved — 101 million — were infants or children," Sookram said.
The province has also introduced a new early dose of measles-containing vaccines, now available for infants six to 11 months of age in the North, Central, and South Zones.
Starting May 5, HealthLink 811 also introduced a dedicated measles hotline. Albertans seeking information about measles can fast track their call through HealthLink by calling 1-844-944-3434. The hotline will speed up access to assist Albertans with accessing their immunization records or general information; provide advice for those experiencing measles symptoms and are feeling unwell; and assist with booking measles immunization appointments or locating a nearby public health clinic offering immunization.
For more information about the measles, including how to access the vaccine which is available for free, Albertans can also visit www.alberta.ca/measles.
Alberta's New Democrats Leader Naheed Nenshi said measures announced on Monday should have been in place months ago.
"Instead, this government ignored the problem. Now we have more than 200 people who have gotten needlessly sick, many of them children, and people are in intensive care with this terrible disease," Nenshi said in a statement.
“It’s wrong to say Albertans forgot the importance of vaccinations when the Smith government is full of vaccine deniers actively spreading misinformation that discourages people from getting their shots."
