Vaccinations

Combining two common childhood vaccines into one — rather than administering them separately — doubles the risk of febrile seizures in children, a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has found.

A North Vancouver father is sharing the terrifying story of how his son almost died from a preventable disease because a child at his kid's school wasn't vaccinated.

Jason Lawson said his son, 10-year-old Beckett, was undergoing chemotherapy four years ago for leukemia when he came down with the chickenpox and had to spend 10 days in the ICU.

Beckett was six years old, and responding well to the chemotherapy, enough that doctors had begun giving him a lower dose. But the chemo compromised his immune system, rendering the booster shots he had as a baby ineffective.

British Columbia should make immunization mandatory for children attending public schools. The Fraser Health Authority is warning communities in its region of a measles outbreak, with two cases confirmed and 100 cases suspected. The most recent case occurred in a school in Chilliwack, an area with traditionally low immunization rates. Some schools checked by health officials had immunization rates as low as zero.

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