The health services network, in collaboration with the school system, has launched a selective catch-up vaccination campaign in all Québec schools. The goal is to vaccinate students and school staff who have not had the required number of vaccine doses or who have no proof of vaccination or past illness (vaccination record or other).
Reasons for the vaccination campaign
The number of people currently vaccinated is not sufficient to prevent the spread of measles. We cannot rely on the vaccination of others to avoid catching this disease ourselves.
In Québec at least one child in ten is at risk of catching measles and passing it on to others, be it to:
- non-vaccinated students
- babies too young to be vaccinated
- pregnant women, or people with cancer who have undergone an organ transplant and cannot be vaccinated.
Who does the vaccination campaign target?
Vaccines are available at no costs to primary and secondary school students and staff who have not had the required number of vaccine doses or who have no proof of vaccination or past illness (vaccination record or other).
Number of vaccine doses required for adequate protection against measles
The following criteria (see the table below) have been established for the measles vaccination campaign. Note that
these apply only to the school-based program.
Number of vaccine doses required for protection against measles
| Year of birth | Number of doses |
| Before 1970 | Population already protected*. No dose required. |
| Between 1970 and 1979 | One dose on the first birthday or afterwards. |
| Since 1980 | Two doses, one on the first birthday or afterwards. A normal vaccine schedule calls for a vaccine dose against measles, rubella, and mumps at 12 months and a second dose at 18 months. In some cases, doses will have been administered at other times. |
*Anyone who had measles in the past and who can present a medical record to that effect is considered protected.
What do to if a case of measles occurs at school
Depending on how the measles outbreak progresses in the establishment, and in order to protect the health of children and those around them, an unvaccinated person could be removed from school until the end of the outbreak.
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