andriano_cz / Depositphotos.com
Alberta’s Measles Crisis Nears U.S. Numbers as Outbreak Intensifies
EDMONTON — Alberta is on the brink of surpassing the total number of measles cases reported across the entire United States as concerns mount over the province’s handling of a growing public health crisis.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,288 Americans are currently infected with measles. Those numbers are enough to trigger coverage by major US media like CNN the New York Times. Alberta Health, meanwhile, is reporting 1,246 cases, just 42 fewer than the U.S., which has a population nearly 70 times larger. The result: Alberta’s outbreak is 66 times more severe, with more than 25 cases per 100,000 residents.
The rising numbers have prompted heightened public health alerts. More than a dozen exposure cities are listed on Alberta Health Services’ website, each with multiple exposure sites, alongside a standing advisory for the entire southern region of the province.
NDP MLA and Shadow Health Minister Sarah Hoffman is sounding the alarm over what she calls an “entirely preventable” outbreak. “Of every thousand cases of measles, between one and three are likely to die,” she said, citing Alberta Health data. “Government is not acting in a way that puts the health of Albertans first, and it may be just a matter of time before lives are lost”
In a written response, Alberta’s Ministry of Primary and Preventive Health Services defended its approach. “Alberta’s government takes the current measles situation seriously and continues to closely monitor the outbreak,” the statement read. “Public health officials are actively engaged in limiting further spread and supporting affected individuals and families.”
But Hoffman says the government is falling short. She is calling for an urgent, widespread public awareness campaign that not only promotes vaccination but also educates the public, particularly older Albertans, about the need for a second dose of the measles vaccine.
“This is too serious to look the other way, but the UCP are looking the other way,” she said. “Having already had her health ministry broken into smaller chunks, Minister Adriana LaGrange has preventable health in shambles.”
The outbreak comes amid other changes to Alberta’s immunization programs, including a shift that now requires many Albertans to pay out of pocket for COVID-19 boosters and travel to public health clinics instead of accessing them through local pharmacies.
Measles was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 1982 and in Canada by 1998. But experts warn that vaccine hesitancy, fueled in part by a long-debunked study linking vaccines to autism, has left populations vulnerable, especially in Alberta, where the immunization rate continues to decline.
As of 2024, only 68.1 per cent of Alberta’s two-year-olds had received the full two-dose measles vaccine. That is far below the 95 per cent threshold needed for herd immunity and the rate is trending downward.
“We should be upset with Premier Smith for buying into conspiracy theories,” Hoffman said. “My energy is putting pressure on her and her cabinet to take this outbreak seriously. We had it eradicated in this province.”
Hoffman added she is ready to see the Alberta Legislature reconvene to address the crisis. “I’m always willing to go back to work, especially for a situation as serious as the one we are facing.”
The UCP government is banking on its “Don’t Get Measles, Get Immunized” campaign, launched in May and spanning radio, print, digital and social media, to stem the tide. But with daily case counts rising, critics say the effort is too little, too late.
If the current trajectory continues, Alberta is poised to outpace the United States, the third-largest country in the world, in measles cases by the weekend despite having a fraction of its population.
Comments