The Region of Waterloo announced that those belonging to high priority risk groups are now eligible to book measles vaccine appointments at two public health clinics in Cambridge and Kitchener.
In a news release earlier today, Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, Medical Officer for Region of Waterloo Public Health stressed the importance of vaccination for maximum protection against illness, specifically the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. “The best protection against measles is the highly effective and safe MMR vaccination…the MMR vaccine greatly reduces the risk of getting measles and helps protect the broader community from further exposures,“ she said.
Those eligible for vaccine appointments are persons without a primary healthcare provider who belong to one of the following groups: infants 6 months to 1 year old who have not received their first dose, children aged 1 to 4 who have not received their second dose, and adults born 1970 and later who have not yet received a second dose.
Eligible patients must confirm they have not received a measles vaccine in the 4 weeks before an appointment and can register online at www.regionofwaterloo.ca/measles. Appointments will be held at 150 Main St. in Cambridge and 20 Weber St. in Kitchener.
Director of Infectious Diseases and Chief Nursing Officer David Aoki also recommends residents and businesses check the list of potential public exposure locations, which have over 60 locations as of May 26, to see if they have been exposed to measles cases and if they should monitor for symptoms.
