Almost 30 per cent of students starting kindergarten in New Brunswick public schools last year did not meet vaccination rules.
The most recent figures from New Brunswick’s Health Department are notable given the ongoing outbreak of measles in the province.
The report says 71.8 per cent of students who began kindergarten in fall 2023 were given the required nine vaccinations against diseases such as measles and polio.
Proof of immunization has been required for all children entering kindergarten in the province since 1982.
As of Nov. 20, there were 44 cases of measles in the province — all in the Fredericton area and parts of the Upper Saint John River Valley — with more than 80 per cent of infections in people under the age of 19.
All confirmed infections are connected to a travel-related measles case brought into the province in late October.
The New Brunswick outbreak is part of a trend of rising measles cases across Canada, where there was a total of 130 cases in 2024 as of Nov. 9.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2024.