Canada has officially lost its designation as a country that has eliminated measles , and experts are pointing to vaccine hesitancy as one of the largest contributors.

In a Monday statement, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said it was notified by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that Canada has lost its designation as a country that has eliminated measles. The PAHO had reviewed epidemiological and laboratory data confirming Canada had sustained measles transmission for over a 12-month period.

Janna Shapiro, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Vaccine Preventable Diseases at the University of Toronto, called the loss of the designation a “public health failure.”

“It’s a very sad day for us in Canada,” Shapiro said.

“We had this disease that was well under cont

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