Interior health says parents should ensure kids caught up vaccination

Interior Health says parents should ensure their kids are caught up with their childhood immunizations, as data shows declining vaccination rates. 

Health officials say most parents know that childhood vaccines are safe, but online misinformation and other factors, such as parents simply forgetting, could be factors in the decrease in immunization rates.

Interior Health's chief medical health officer, Dr. Martin Lavoie, says the health authority is working to help family keep their kids' vaccines up-to-date, warning of serious - even fatal - consequences for under- or un-immunized children and infants. 

Interior Health says just over 56 per cent of seven-year-olds were immunized as of the end of 2023, below the target of 70 per cent, and the low rates have prompted the health authority to open extra clinics offering immunization services this year.