Josie Osborne, Minister of Health (flickr.com)

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Backgrounders

What to know about spring COVID-19 vaccine program

The latest epidemiological data trends show that respiratory respiratory illnesses in B.C. are low or decreasing. On Friday, March 28, 2025, Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, declared the end of the 2024-25 respiratory illness season. So, extra measures in health-care facilities are no longer required. This is a decision informed by low levels of respiratory illness seen in the most recent data provided by the BC Centre for Disease Control.

People are still encouraged to wear medical masks in health-care settings as appropriate, and to continue to practise healthy habits, such as covering coughs and sneezes, staying away from others when feeling sick and cleaning hands. People should continue to seek appropriate medical care if they are ill. Health-care workers will continue to wear appropriate personal protective equipment, such as medical masks and respirators, when additional precautions are required and in accordance with their point-of-care risk assessments.

This spring COVID-19 immunization program will use the same COVID-19 vaccine in place during the latest respiratory illness season, which is the updated mRNA vaccines targeting the KP.2 COVID-19 subvariant.

The 2024-25 respiratory illness immunization campaign was launched to the general population on Oct. 15, 2024. As of end of day on Monday, March 24, 2025, B.C. has administered more than 1.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines and more than 1.34 million doses of influenza vaccines.

Learn More:

To read Dr. Henry’s statement on the end of the respiratory illness season and for more information about latest trends, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/32160

To learn more about B.C.’s immunization program, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/managing-your-health/immunizations

To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit: https://HealthLinkBC.ca/immunizations

To learn more about health-information services in B.C., visit: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/

What to know about cases of measles in B.C.

Measles is an extremely contagious virus that can cause severe complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), and even death. It is a highly contagious virus that can spread through air. People can pass the virus to others before they show symptoms and the virus can stay suspended in the air in a room for several hours.

Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose and conjunctivitis. Three to four days after the onset of fever, a rash develops, generally it begins on the face, then spreads rapidly to the rest of the body.

There has been a resurgence of measles in Canada in recent years, with several hundred confirmed cases officially reported nationally so far in 2025 (and more expected for March 2025) and 146 cases in 2024, with cases occurring largely in people who were not immunized or under immunized. There is also significant measles transmission in many parts of the world, including Europe, Asia and Africa.

In B.C., measles vaccine is provided as measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and is recommended for children beginning at the first birthday. A second dose, generally with MMR and varicella vaccine (MMRV), is given at school entry (four to six years).

How to check your immunization records?

  • Check the immunization records from adults and children through the Health Gateway.
  • If the records are not in the Health Gateway:
    • Adults and children may have received a paper record at the time of immunization. For example, in B.C., immunizations may be recorded in the Child Health Passport.
    • If the immunization record is incomplete in Health Gateway and people have a paper record, they can submit the record.
    • If people don't have a paper record, they can:
      • Contact the health-care provider that gave the vaccines.
      • Contact the community health nurse if the vaccines were given in a First Nations community.
      • If people have moved to B.C. from another province or country, contact the immunization provider or local public health unit and ask to have the records sent to them.

Learn More:

To find information about measles vaccine, visit: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-library/immunizations

To view BC Centre for Disease Control guidance for international travellers related to measles, visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Guidelines%20and%20Forms/Guidelines%20and%20Manuals/Epid/CD%20Manual/Chapter%202%20-%20Imms/Part2/InternationalTravelers.pdf

To review federal travel advisories, visit: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/health-safety/travel-health-notices/504

To find a pharmacy, visit: https://www.bcpharmacy.ca/mmr  

To learn more about health-authority vaccine clinics and details about booking appointments for immunization against measles, visit: