Measles vaccination a ticket for kids to stay in summer camps: officials – National [Video]

As families look toward the end of school and the start of summer camps, public health officials and camp directors have added measles to their list of risks to prepare and watch out for.

The warnings from some public health units come amid ongoing measles outbreaks in multiple provinces, with camps being told to keep immunization records on hand in the event of an infection.

“We’ve essentially said that immunization against measles this year is like a small insurance policy — it’s your ticket to stay in camp,” said Jack Goodman, director of Camp New Moon in Baysville, Ont.

While some provinces like Ontario and New Brunswick require students to be vaccinated against measles in order to attend school, there is no such immunization requirement for summer camps.

Instead, Goodman says it will be up to individual camps to decide what their policies are.

Ontario is home to to the country’s largest provincial outbreak of measles, with …