As of November 10, 2025, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) announced that Canada has officially lost its’ measles elimination status. This news comes as the number of measles cases in Canada have now jumped to more than 5,000 cases in 20251.The likely cause of this is the decline in trusting the healthcare system, which led to the reduction in herd immunity, creating a large increase in diseases that are preventable via vaccines. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), herd immunity is defined as protection of preventable diseases via mass vaccinations in a population2. In this post, I’m going to detail exactly how Canada has lost its’ elimination status, and how we can combat this increasing issue not just from a public health perspective, but as ordinary individuals as well.
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Figure 1. Measles cases in Canada in 2025. Health Canada graphic.11
The measles outbreak in Canada started in October 2024 and is currently ongoing, which accounts for the removal of the measles elimination status(Figure 1). But what does having this status mean? In order for a country to have the measles elimination status, they must not have had a measles outbreak in 12 consecutive months, have adequate immunizations in the population of that country, and have maintained a way to ensure that any risks to future outbreaks are contained4. Unfortunately, Canada no longer holds this status because of the current outbreak in over 9 provinces, which has persisted over 12 months5.
So why is there a measles outbreak in Canada, when we have a vaccine that can prevent it from happening in the first place? Experts have come up with a few key reasons for the outbreak, but for the purposes of this post, I will be focusing on the misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. Although the other factors play a role in measles contraction, the most pressing factor relevant to Canada is the misinformation and vaccine hesitancy, which I will explain in greater detail later on in this post 6:
· Misinformation and vaccine hesitancy
· Contracting measles via international travel
· Limited access to vaccination services and healthcare
The WHO defines vaccine hesitancy as the “refusal of vaccine or delay in its acceptance” 7. During the COVID-19 pandemic, various social media channels fueled the spread of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and skepticism of vaccines and their ability to prevent diseases, along with safety and privacy concerns, which undermine how likely a vaccine will accepted by a population7. The misinformation of ingredients used in vaccines due to perceived risks and a lack of understanding of how and why vaccines use specific ingredients is also another significant contributing factor, which further contributes to vaccine hesitancy7.
The mistrust of the healthcare system is also a major contributing factor, which includes systemic racism in hospitals and clinics. In a study of COVID-19 misinformation, it was found that Black communities faced misinformation of COVID-19 due to conflicting information, conspiracy theories about the vaccine, and a history of dismissal of symptoms and concerns by previous healthcare providers8. Other issues include the increased demand for a family doctor, overcrowding in hospitals, and the lack of available doctors to take on additional patient concerns8.
Now that we understand what contributed to vaccine misinformation, what can public health officials and the general public do to solve this issue? Raising awareness on vaccines and how they work is the first step, while also working to cultivate trust in the healthcare system. This can be done via workshops on how to make appointments online (in different languages), aid for medications, transportation to and from the clinic, and other supports to help vulnerable populations as well9.
What can we, as the general public do to deal with vaccine misinformation? This infographic below details specific ways we can combat misinformation as well. The most important strategy we can use is to showcase the science behind vaccine safety and effectiveness and use an empathetic approach when explaining how vaccines are effective10.
Ultimately, restoring trust in the healthcare system, and raising awareness about vaccines and combatting misinformation can help Canada work towards re-gaining their measles elimination status10.
If you found this post informative, please take a moment to verify your measles immunization status. If you are in BC, you can use the Health Gateway to check your immunization records and verify if you are vaccinated for measles:
https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-library/immunizations/information-and-safety/records
References:
1. https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/canada-loses-its-official-measles-free-status
2. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/herd-immunity-lockdowns-and-covid-19
3. Measles vaccines: WHO position paper, april 2017 – recommendations. (2019). Vaccine, 37(2), 219-222. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.07.066
4. Coulby, Cameron & Domingo, Francesca & Hiebert, Joanne & Squires, Susan. (2021). Measles surveillance in Canada, 2019. Canada Communicable Disease Report. 47. 149-160. 10.14745/ccdr.v47i03a05.
6. https://www.dal.ca/news/2025/03/27/measles-outbreak-expert.html
7. https://www.ccjm.org/content/91/9_suppl_1/S50#ref-3
8. L.F.L.Tobelem, et al. (2025). Expanding healthcare capacity in Canada: the potential of internationally trained physicians. The Lancet Regional Health – Americas. 46, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2025.101095.
10. https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/how-to-tackle-vaccine-misinformation-what-works-and-what-doesnt/
11. https://health-infobase.canada.ca/measles-rubella/
Published on: November 19, 2025