The bus grows quiet as the rain starts to fall. I’m heading to Surrey Memorial Hospital, where health officials have confirmed two more measles cases this week. It’s the same hospital where my sister gave birth last summer – now a site where isolation protocols are in place.
“We just don’t have enough staff to manage both routine vaccinations and outbreak response,” Dr. Helena Swann tells me as we walk through the corridors of the public health unit adjacent to the hospital. A veteran public health physician, Swann has deep lines around her eyes that speak to two decades of service – and the last four years of pandemic response.
The current situation feels eerily familiar to healthcare workers. Since January, Canada has reported 31 measles cases across five provinces – already exceeding 2023’s total case count. The resurgence of this highly contagious disease has prompted the NDP to demand emergency funding for public health units struggling to respond to outbreaks while maintaining routine vaccination services.
“It’s like fighting a forest fire with a garden hose,” says NDP health critic Don Davies. “Public health units need immediate resources to prevent these entirely preventable diseases from spreading further.”
In British Columbia’s Fraser Health region, where I’m reporting today, vaccination rates for measles have dropped below 90% in some communities – far beneath the 95% threshold epidemiologists consider necessary for herd immunity. Similar patterns have emerged across Canada, with Statistics Canada reporting that childhood vaccination coverage has declined by approximately 3-7% since 2019.
At the Surrey Public Health Unit, the waiting room is packed with families. Amrit Singh, a father of three, has brought his children for their routine immunizations after receiving a call from the health unit.
“We got behind during COVID,” he admits, bouncing his youngest on his knee. “Everything was cancelled, and then life got busy. The phone call reminder helped us prioritize this.”
This direct outreach approach is what health units say they need more resources to sustain. According to the Canadian Public Health Association, immunization programs across the country need an estimated $28 million in emergency funding to address the backlog in routine vaccinations while responding to outbreak investigations.
“We’re constantly robbing Peter to pay Paul,” explains Casey Brent, an immunization coordinator with 15 years of experience. Today, she’s been pulled from a school-based vaccination program to assist with measles contact tracing. “When we redirect staff to manage outbreaks, other essential services suffer.”
The ripple effects become visible in real time as I follow Brent through her day. A scheduled immunization clinic at an elementary school has been postponed. Phone calls to vulnerable families for vaccination follow-ups have been delayed. The team’s street outreach program serving Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside homeless population has been temporarily suspended.
When I visited the same health unit last year for a story on routine immunization programs, they were already operating at capacity. That was before the current measles threat intensified.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, acknowledges the strain on the system. “We’re seeing the compounding effects of pandemic-related disruptions to routine immunization programs,” she noted in a recent briefing. “Many jurisdictions are still working to catch up.”
Health Canada data shows that approximately 250,000 Canadian children fell behind on routine vaccinations during the pandemic years. Reaching these families requires intensive outreach – phone calls, reminder systems, extended clinic hours, and community partnerships – all requiring additional staffing and resources.
Back at Surrey Memorial, I meet Martina Lopez, a public health nurse who specializes in communicating with vaccine-hesitant families. She shows me a color-coded map of Surrey’s neighborhoods with immunization rates.
“These aren’t just anti-vaccine communities,” Lopez explains, pointing to areas with lower coverage. “Many families face barriers like transportation issues, language barriers, or work schedules that make it difficult to access services. Outreach works, but it’s resource-intensive.”
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has acknowledged these challenges but has yet to announce specific funding to address the current measles situation. Meanwhile, provincial health budgets remain stretched thin after years of pandemic response.
“We’re still dealing with COVID, influenza, RSV, and now measles,” Dr. Swann says. “Our public health infrastructure needs sustainable funding, not just emergency responses when outbreaks make headlines.”
As I prepare to leave, I notice a bulletin board in the health unit’s staff room. It’s covered with thank-you cards from families and community organizations. One card, written in a child’s handwriting, reads: “Thank you for keeping us safe.“
The irony isn’t lost on the staff. Their mission to keep communities safe from preventable diseases continues, but without additional resources, the gaps in protection may continue to widen.
In the parking lot, I encounter Jennifer Williams, who has just brought her toddler for vaccination. “I heard about the measles cases on the news,” she tells me. “It’s scary to think these diseases are coming back. I thought we were past this.”
As Canada grapples with the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases, the question remains: will the emergency funding materialize before more outbreaks occur? For health units across the country, the clock is ticking, and resources are stretched thinner by the day.
Tomorrow, federal health officials will meet with provincial counterparts to discuss the situation. Public health advocates hope this meeting will result in concrete commitments rather than simply more discussion. For the frontline workers I’ve met today, action can’t come soon enough.
