Officials urge vaccination after person diagnosed with highly infectious measles
VANCOUVER — Health officials in Vancouver urged people to get vaccinated against measles by Friday if there’s a chance they were exposed to the highly infectious disease diagnosed in a person who attended a large music festival and a block party.
Medical health officer Dr. John Harding of Vancouver Coastal Health said the unidentified person was at the Skookum Festival at Stanley Park last Saturday and it’s important for people who could have been exposed to the disease and haven’t had two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to be vaccinated within a six-day window.
The infected person was diagnosed as a priority case on Thursday night after developing symptoms including a fever, cough, redness in the eyes and a rash on the face that spread to the chest.
Harding said the patient was confirmed to have had one dose of the vaccine, which provided about 95 per cent immunity, but two doses are needed for 99 per cent protection against measles.