It’s ‘Never Too Late’ to Vaccinate Your Kid for School

B.C.’s top doctor and health minister are encouraging parents to make sure their kids’ vaccinations are up to date ahead of returning to school.

Vaccines are the best way to avoid serious and sometimes fatal disease, said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and health minister Ravi Kahlon on Thursday. And therefore the best way to keep kids healthy, hanging out with friends and learning in school.

Parents can check the provincial routine immunization schedule online, where children are offered free vaccines to protect them against 15 different diseases. Some vaccines include multiple doses at different ages.

When children are four to six years old and entering school they should be getting the Tdap-IPV vaccine, which protects them against tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and polio, and the MMVR vaccine, which protects them from measles, mumps, rubella and varicella.

The province recommends children first get vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella at 12 months old, and again when they enter school, for long-lasting immunity.

Public health nursing teams visit schools to provide routine vaccinations in kindergarten, Grade 6 and Grade 9, the Ministry of Health previously told The Tyee.

B.C. also requires that parents inform the province about the immunizations their children have or haven’t received.

If children are behind on their vaccines, it is “never too late” to get them vaccinated now, Kahlon said.

Rising cases of measles are of particular concern.

Kahlon pointed to how in 2023 the United States had 59 confirmed cases of measles, but so far in 2026 the country has had 2,777 cases, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released last week.

In Canada there were 12 cases of measles in 2023 and so far in 2026 there have been 1,117 cases, according to Health Canada data from two weeks ago.

B.C. needs to be prepared for future measles outbreaks and that means encouraging parents to follow the guidance of public health officials and getting their kids vaccinated, Kahlon said.

If parents are not sure what vaccines their kids have had they can check the Health Gateway portal, which stores health records including immunization records, and check it against the list on the provincial routine immunization schedule.

Questions and concerns? Raise them with a doctor, not social media

Parents with questions or concerns about vaccines should speak to their doctor, pharmacist or health-care provider about their concerns, Henry said. Parents can also check out verified online information from the Canadian Paediatric Society, Healthlink BC and the BC Centre for Disease Control.

“All the health professionals in Canada strongly support immunization as one of the best ways to protect our children,” Henry said, adding, “false or misleading information is unfortunately very common online.”

It’s important to keep in mind that an online source might benefit from clicks by making false or frightening claims, she added.

Unfortunately the U.S. administration is also spreading misinformation about vaccines, Kahlon said.

“Due to these falsehoods childhood vaccinations are decreasing and the rates of measles are increasing, sadly with significant consequences,” he said.

Youth do not need their parents’ permission to get vaccinated

In B.C. there is no age when a minor can consent to care, Henry said. Instead the province has a policy where health-care providers need to determine if a patient can fully understand the weight of their decision and consent to care.

This means children and teenagers do not need their parent’s permission to get vaccinated. If a young person wanted to get vaccinated they should have a discussion with their doctor, a pharmacist or other health-care provider. Those conversations are confidential.

It can sometimes be hard to see the benefits of vaccines, but it wasn’t too long ago that children routinely got extremely sick or died from diseases they no longer have to think about, Henry said.

Back when her parents were in school and coming back from summer holidays there would be kids missing because of polio, she said.