Public Health in Focus

Public Health in Focus is a newsletter by Public Health Sudbury & Districts to inform our community on the public health issues of the day and is issued following our regular Board of Health meetings.

Words for Thought

February 2025

Measles outbreaks in Canada highlight the importance of vaccination

The World Health Organization estimates that 107 500 people died of measles in 2023. In addition, hundreds of thousands more likely suffered other complications of measles, including permanent deafness, pneumonia, infections of the brain, and pregnancy loss amongst others.

The 107 500 global deaths from measles would have been closer to 800 000 deaths if it weren’t for measles vaccination around the world. Fortunately, Canada has had the resources and public health infrastructure to ensure high measles vaccination coverage, and the World Health Organization certified in 1998 that measles was “eliminated” in Canada—that means that while someone may occasionally get infected with measles while travelling, transmission within our borders is rare and not sustained. The Chief Public Health Officer’s (CPHO) recent statement highlights that this status is now being challenged.

In late 2024, New Brunswick had an extended measles outbreak. Currently, both Ontario and Quebec have measles outbreaks, with the Ontario outbreak having spilled over into 5 infections in Manitoba. Within Ontario, both Southwestern Public Health and Grand Erie Public Health have declared local measles outbreaks. All this illustrates how quickly and widely measles can spread within our borders now. The underlying cause of that is lower measles vaccination coverage.

The CPHO notes a recent scientific study demonstrating reduced measles vaccination. That study found we went from 89.5% of 2-year-olds having 1 dose of MMR vaccine in 2019, to only 82.5% in 2023. Among 7-year-olds, we went from 86.3% having 2 doses of MMR vaccine in 2019, to only 75.6% in 2023. This decline is a direct cause of the recent measles spread we have seen. And this is a consequence of the disruption that the pandemic caused.

Fortunately, Public Health Sudbury & Districts has seen vaccination levels remain higher, thanks to prioritization and investment into this work, particularly in 2022–2023 during pandemic recovery efforts. While MMR-specific immunization data are not available, the coverage combined for all vaccines under the Immunization of School Pupils Act was 85.6% for 7-year-olds and 87.3% for 17-year-olds. That 85.6% for all vaccines compares favourably to the 75.6% noted above for MMR nationally. And as that 85.6% represents the intersection of coverage from many vaccines, likely the MMR coverage is higher. This is likely part of the reason that many parts of Ontario have seen the odd measles infection in recent years, while we have not.

Staying safe from vaccine preventable diseases like measles doesn’t happen by accident. It is the consequence of dedicated effort and investment. And when that stops, as it did during the pandemic response, that protection can crumble and put us at risk once again. The recent measles outbreaks in Canada are a reminder of the importance of ongoing, dedicated work to maintain high immunization coverage, as well as the importance of ongoing investment into vaccination budgets.

M. Mustafa Hirji MD, MPH, FRCPC
Acting Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer

Need to do

Vote for investments in healthier communities for all!

With a provincial election underway and a federal election anticipated shortly, Public Health Sudbury & Districts is encouraging voters to consider the power of their ballot to help shape and create healthier communities.

Elections matter for your health! Discover key public health priorities before you vote by visiting our website.

Elections: Fund local public health

Voter actions

Consider the issues that are important to your community and the investments that are required to support them.
Get to know your local candidates and understand what is of importance to them and the vision of their party.
Ask questions and take part in polite and respectful discussions.
Respect different points of view and look to find common ground.

Be informed and vote

Visit Elections Ontario for information on:

important dates
voter registration
ways to vote (by mail, in advance, or in person)
voting locations

Dr. Mustafa Hirji, Acting Medical Officer of Health for Public Health Sudbury & Districts encourages voters to consider four areas when gathering information and casting their ballots.

Stay up to date with Public Health!

Did you know that we have social media channels devoted to providing engaging Public Health content? We also have dedicated French channels! Subscribe to our English and French social media platforms to regularly view news and updates about our programs, services, and clinics.

For the latest advice and updates, follow us on Facebook and X (Twitter) @PublicHealthSD or @SantePubliqueSD and visit our website. Don’t forget to share this information with friends and family.

Need to know

We strive for health equity by championing equal opportunities for health.

Advancing physical literacy in youth

Public Health Sudbury & Districts staff recently took part in an important national conversation about physical literacy. Staff joined a panel for the Understanding Physical Literacy: A Canadian Perspective (2024) webinar, hosted by Sport for Life, to share insights on how communities can foster lifelong movement skills and active living through the Physical Literacy for Communities (PL4C) strategy.

The webinar brought together experts from health, recreation, and municipal sectors, all working toward a common goal—making physical literacy more accessible and impactful for Canadians. Public Health staff highlighted local efforts, including two motions passed by the Board of Health:

With a diverse audience of educators, coaches, health professionals, and policymakers tuning in, the webinar helped strengthen the national dialogue on embedding physical literacy into public health, education, and community planning.

Initiatives such as this one showcases our commitment to our strategic priority of equal opportunities for health by supporting awareness, education, advocacy, and policy development to address the root causes of health inequities.

We strive for ongoing excellence in local public health practice, including demonstrating accountability and monitoring the effectiveness, impact, and quality of our programs and services.

Sexual health services offered in January

Our sexual health clinic promotes healthy sexuality and provides free, confidential services to help reduce sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In January, there were 138 drop-in visits to our Elm Place office related STIs, blood-borne infections, and/or pregnancy counselling.

In addition, clinic staff completed 382 telephone assessments, leading to 235 on-site visits for in-person care.

The sexual health clinic in Greater Sudbury offers booked appointments with daytime and evening availability. Additional sexual health clinics are run at our offices throughout our service area.

Positive Space at Public Health

The Positive Space initiative was launched at Public Health in June 2023 to demonstrate our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion for our employees, clients, and the community overall.

With this initiative having been in place for over a year, the Health Equity team is conducting an evaluation to assess the Positive Space initiative and its effects on clients and staff to ensure continuous quality improvement, in line with our strategic priority of excellence in public health practice. Data collection includes online client and staff surveys, focus groups with frontline staff, an audit of intake and program forms, an audit of mandatory staff training, and the review of responses and feedback from the Client Satisfaction Survey and staff feedback surveys.

Through a variety of Public Health services, we see our strategic priority of excellence in public health practice in action for clients, communities, and stakeholders.

We establish relationships that lead to impactful partnerships, collaborations, and engagement.

Public Health recognizes Black History Month: Honouring legacy and leadership

This February, Public Health is commemorating Black History Month under the theme “Black Legacy and Leadership: Celebrating Canadian History and Uplifting Future Generations.”

Throughout the month, we are reflecting on the significant contributions of Black communities to Canadian history while recognizing the ongoing work needed to support and empower future generations. Our activities include

Sharing educational resources with staff
Hosting a lunch-and-learn session with the Afro Women and Youth Foundation on February 19
Promoting local community events

Learn more about our Racial Equity Action Framework

Public Health focus on Indigenous engagement with new partnership

On January 15, Public Health officially formalized a new collaborative partnership with the Maamwesying Ontario Health Team. This partnership is a significant step forward in our ongoing commitment to Indigenous engagement, a key part of our strategic priorities. Developed in consultation with Indigenous communities, our Indigenous Engagement Strategy focuses on building meaningful relationships, advocating for better health, and supporting the well-being of Indigenous communities.

This new collaboration strengthens Public Health’s role as an ally in Maamwesying’s efforts to create equitable, culturally safe, and sustainable health pathways. We are proud to work together towards improving health outcomes for Indigenous communities. For more information, please read Maamwesying Ontario Health Team and Public Health Sudbury & Districts Sign Collaboration Agreement (Maamwesying Ontario Health Team).

Learn more about the Indigenous Engagement Strategy

This work is grounded by our strategic priority of impactful relationships. Through this work, we are collaborating in a way that is meaningful to identify, plan, implement, and evaluate initiatives and services to work toward improving the health of the population.

Subscribe to Public Health in Focus

This item was last modified on February 24, 2025