Public Health offering drop-in measles vaccines after case identified in Halifax
Posted May 8, 2025 05:33:43 AM.
Last Updated May 8, 2025 10:42:23 AM.
Public health says there will be a free measles vaccine clinic on Thursday after the province’s top doctor announced a case in the Halifax area.
Tuesday afternoon, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang said the health agency recorded a case of measles, involving an adult who travelled outside of Canada.
Strang said the person turned up to the QEII emergency department on Sunday night.
The person has one dose of vaccine, according to the province’s top doctor, but people generally need two doses to be fully vaccinated. Public health says anyone born between 1970 and 1996 might only have received one dose.
Public Health is holding a clinic on Thursday at it’s office on Mellor Avenue in Dartmouth from 2 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., where people can drop in for a vaccine. Both Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) and Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella (MMRV) vaccines will be available.
Measles is described as a highly contagious disease that can lead to serious outcomes, and the new case here comes as other provinces have been dealing with recent outbreaks.
Nova Scotia’s last case was in 2023, and was also travel-related.
Outbreaks know no borders
An ongoing outbreak in Ontario that has spread to other provinces was first reported in the fall. Officials say the outbreak started at a large gathering in New Brunswick involving Mennonite communities.
The latest numbers show 223 new infections reported in Ontario over the past week, the highest since its outbreak began. More than 1,200 people have become ill from the virus since October.
Public Health Ontario said in a report today that 84 people have been hospitalized – including 63 children – during the course of this outbreak.
Cases have also spread in Manitoba and Alberta, with experts there saying they have not seen numbers this high in decades.
