U.S. going backwards on vaccines, B.C. health officials say

VANCOUVER - British Columbia health officials are warning that vaccine misinformation from U.S. officials is causing unwarranted concerns about proven effective vaccines. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry deems an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump, recommending the splitting of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, as "distressing" and disregarding safety evidence.

She asserts the decision is detrimental to families and communities, as it treats measles as a non-serious illness. B.C. Health Minister Ravi Kahlon joined Henry at a news conference advocating for back-to-school immunizations, attributing the rise in measles cases and declining childhood vaccinations to U.S. vaccine rhetoric. Both Canada and the U.S. have observed increases in measles cases since 2025, with a cluster in northeastern B.C. last June.

Henry notes that the majority of measles cases in the past year occurred in communities with decreasing vaccination rates. She advises parents to ensure their children's immunization records are current before school starts, as many first-year students in B.C. require booster vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella and varicella.