Breakenridge: Why has province been so unwilling to talk about measles vaccines?

Before 2020, there were likely few Albertans who could name Alberta’s chief medical officer of health (CMOH). That’s likely the case once again. In between, of course, Deena Hinshaw — much like her provincial and federal counterparts — became a household name.

That’s not the norm, nor should we want it to be. But our level of familiarity with top health officials should be a byproduct of circumstances, not political preference. It was very much a matter of political preference when Premier Danielle Smith fired Hinshaw as CMOH as one of her first acts as premier.



Dr. Mark Joffe was subsequently appointed interim CMOH, a position he held for more than two years before finally bowing out earlier this month. We’ve gone from one interim CMOH to another.

Dr. Sunil Sookram has been temporarily appointed , while the province has begun the process of finding a permanent replacement. It remains to be seen whether the new interim CMOH will be any more visible or vocal than his predecessor.

Based on Joffe’s tenure, that seems unlikely. With a worsening measles outbreak in the province, though, that is less than ideal. Barely a day goes by now that we aren’t hearing about new measles cases and potential public exposures to the virus.

Alberta’s outbreak isn’t the worst in North America, or even Canada, but it’s highly concerning. As the measles case count has continued to climb — now well over 100 — Alberta’s CMOH has been conspicuously absent. There were no public news conferences and no interview requests granted.

The province maintained that Joffe was closely monitoring the situation and it was being largely handled by local health officials in affected areas. It’s reminiscent of the E. coli outbreak that occurred in Calgary in 2023.

It wasn’t until we had well over 200 cases linked to that outbreak — including more than two dozen hospitalized children — that the CMOH was finally allowed to appear at a news conference. It was 10 months into his appointment as CMOH and his first public appearance. Was it Joffe’s decision to maintain a low profile through this measles outbreak? That should be a decision that falls to the CMOH based on an assessment of the situation.

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