VANCOUVER — The federal health minister says she can't help but get emotional over the decision by some parents not to get their children vaccinated against infectious diseases.
Rona Ambrose says measles in particular is an incredibly infectious disease and parents who refuse to get their kids immunized are irresponsible and put other children at risk.
She says vaccines are miracles of modern medicine that save lives.
Ambrose says Canada spends billions of dollars on vaccines for children around the world but educated Canadians who won't allow their kids to be immunized through a publicly funded program are making the wrong decision.
The health minister is speaking out after recent measles cases in Ontario and Manitoba, and she urged parents with any concerns about the safety of vaccines to talk to their doctor.
She noted that a study linking measles, mumps and rubella vaccines to autism in the late 1990s has been debunked and that the researcher was forced to retract his fraudulent claims.
