The local health unit is upping the ante this year to ensure all students have up-to-date immunization records.
At the beginning of the summer, 15,500 students between the ages of four and 16 in the region received letters from Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) asking them to update their immunization record.
In Ontario public health units are mandated to keep a record of student immunizations under the Immunization of School Pupils Act.
Students without the required vaccinations or legal exemptions may be suspended.
“I think that with our mail-out that went out at the beginning of the summer … some parents … were concerned their children wouldn’t be able to attend school,” said Rita Sethi, WDGPH director of community health and wellness.
“I hope they realize that their children can still attend school … but that it’s really important for them to get their records updated and to us as quickly as possible so we can avoid any further confusion or stress and anxiety related to incorrect records.”
Over the 2015-16 school year the health unit assessed seven-year-olds and 17-year-olds in public and Catholic schools for immunization record completion.
About 3,900 student letters were sent home in January indicating students with incomplete records would be suspended, and 88 per cent of families submitted completed records within six weeks.
In the end, 480 students were suspended and 90% were able to return to school within a week after updating their records. No students are currently suspended.
“We’ve never re-suspended anyone that didn’t complete the requirements for this year,” Sethi said.
To avoid receiving a suspension letter between December and February, parents and students who received a notice letter at the beginning of the summer should either update the immunization record with public health or receive required immunizations from their doctor.
For parents who don’t know if their child has received the necessary shots, Sethi said public health can help access records as long as it’s known where the child received the vaccine. If that information is not available, there are a few options.
“We could send the child for some blood tests to see if they have immunity to the diseases that the vaccine protects against or we can just revaccinate depending on the situation, the age of the child, where they are in their immunization schedule,” she said. “Where we see it more often is … when we’re working with people who have immigrated from other countries or come from other provinces.
“Because our (immunization) schedule isn’t the same as other provinces or other countries … and so with that we have to be a little bit more creative in making sure that they get the protection that they need.”
Public health encourages parents and students to track down their immunization records first and foremost.
“The majority of the kids that we sent notices to (in January) actually had their vaccines, it was just that they didn’t know to send it to public health,” Sethi said.
This time around the health unit wants to ensure parents and students know they are responsible for sending immunization records to public health – it’s not the responsibility of a physician.
“We’re continuing to work with physicians to try and get them to report it to us as much as possible, but at this point the way the legislation stands it is the parents’ responsibility,” Sethi explained.
“However there are changes presented right now that … if passed in the (Ontario) legislature, will be requiring physicians to report vaccinations to us.”
There are various options for reporting vaccinations to public health:
– update online at ImmunizeWDG.ca;
– mail to 160 Chancellors Way, Guelph, N1G 0E1; or
– call (1-800-265-7293 ext. 4396) or fax (519-836-7215).
Sethi also said that after last year’s immunization record update, WDGPH realized the importance of explaining why it is important to keep immunization records up to date.
“It’s around protecting our school-age children,” she said. “We know that that’s one of the biggest breeding grounds for communicable diseases, particularly vaccine-preventable diseases, and so the more we can ensure that our children are protected the healthier they’ll be and therefore they can stay in school for longer periods.”
Parents are encouraged to ensure they update their child’s immunization records as soon as possible. Suspension notices for any students between 7 and 17 years of age who are not up do date will be sent between December and February.
Suspensions will commence on March 22 for secondary students and on April 5 and 6 for elementary school students who do not have up to date records.
The vaccines students are required to have under the Immunization School Pupils Act include: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, meningococcal and varicella.
