Pharmacists to give free measles vaccine to young Manitobans

Manitoba pharmacists will now be able to administer the measles vaccine as cases continue to rise in the province.

Manitoba’s health minister announced pharmacists will soon be able to administer the measles vaccine following calls to enlist the health-care providers in the battle against the growing outbreak.

Uzoma Asagwara said they will sign an exemption order Tuesday that will allow Manitoba pharmacists to inoculate people between two and 19 years old for free.

According to Asagwara, Pharmacists Manitoba reached out to their office last week calling for the change.

“I think that’s a really good, common-sense step that we can take to make sure more Manitobans have access to a really important vaccine right now,” they told reporters on Tuesday.

The change comes after Manitoba Pharmacists, a non-profit that represents and advocates for the health-care providers, put out a public call to the province to enact the change.

“It is something that we’re already trained to do,” Britt Kural, pharmacy practice advisor with Pharmacists Manitoba, told CTV News.

“We have the systems in place. We’re comfortable providing vaccines in our pharmacies, and we know that in at least five other provinces in Canada, pharmacists are already providing vaccine against measles.”

Manitoba pharmacists are currently able to administer influenza, COVID-19, pneumococcal, HPV and Tdap shots.

Kural said she is happy to hear measles will soon be added to that list, although she notes Pharmacists Manitoba has not yet had official confirmation from the province.

“We’re pleased to hear that the minister has heard our concerns,” she said.

Education, not mandatory vaccination, needed to stop outbreak: Asagwara

According to the province’s most recent measles data, which was last updated on March 27, there have been 353 confirmed and 54 probable cases in the province in 2026. Less than four months into the year, that number has already surpassed total cases for all of 2025, which recorded 319 confirmed cases.

Asagwara said while the province is working to protect the province’s most vulnerable against the ongoing outbreak, they stopped short of committing to mandatory vaccinations.

“We know that the most effective way of folks getting access to vaccines is information and education and awareness,” Asagwara said.

“It’s about making sure that we’re meeting people where they’re at, getting them the information, answering all the questions that they might have and making those vaccines as accessible as possible, and that’s what this step does.”