VICTORIA — British Columbia has recorded 19 confirmed cases of measles this year and the province is responding by launching a measles immunization catch-up drive next month, aiming to vaccinate 95 per cent of the province’s youth.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says provincial data from 2018 indicates 82 per cent of seven-year-olds in B.C. have been immunized against measles, a number he says needs improvement.

Dix says the catch-up program will run from April to June, protecting as many Kindergarten to Grade 12 students as possible before the end of the school year.

The program will be offered in schools, public health units and community health centres and Dix says it will also include pharmacies.

The goal is to reach students who have never been vaccinated, but the program will also offer second-dose shots for students who have not completed the required schedule of two vaccinations.

Dix says letters will be sent to parents and guardians of children whose vaccination status is not up-to-date.

The Canadian Press