How the unvaccinated have been portrayed in the urban English-language Canadian popular press since the declared end of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency

Since the WHO declared the end of the COVID-19 emergency in May 2023, public vaccination remains a complex issue intertwined with politicization and misinformation. This research article examined how the "unvaccinated" have been portrayed in the urban English-language Canadian popular press between May 2023 and May 2025, specifically comparing coverage of COVID-19 with the emerging 2024-2025 measles outbreaks. Through a content analysis of 308 articles from major national and urban news sources, the study reveals a dichotomy in journalistic framing. Findings indicate that COVID-19 reporting remained heavily politicized and rooted in ideological debates. These articles focused primarily on politics, mandate arguments, government critiques, and claims of discrimination against the unvaccinated, with only 40% mentioning unvaccinated health risks to oneself or others. In contrast, measles coverage adopted a more traditional public health lens; 96% of these articles characterized being unvaccinated as a health risk to oneself or others, frequently emphasizing vaccine importance and uptake strategies while largely avoiding broader socio-political issues. The study suggests that while the Canadian popular press successfully conveys scientific urgency in novel or acute health threats like measles, its continued focus on socio-political conflict regarding COVID-19 represents problematic science communication. Covering "agenda-setting" political narratives is an important aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic but should not dominate or stand in place of evolving clinical evidence on reinfection and vaccine efficacy. Depoliticizing scientific realities and reintegrating established health-risk data into all vaccine-related reporting is necessary for supporting public health in any infectious disease contexts.