Health Unit reviewing student immunization records

Huron Perth, ON – Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) has reviewed the immunization records of all students attending elementary or secondary school in Huron Perth.

More than 5000 records (39%) are incomplete, which means students are either missing immunizations required for school attendance, or their immunizations have not been reported to public health. Students with incomplete immunization records may be suspended from school under the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA).

Records are usually reviewed annually but this is the first time HPPH is completing the review and suspension process since the former Huron County and Perth District Health Units merged in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic also disrupted the student immunization review process.

“COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and a focus on pandemic response limited the ability of health units and primary care providers to offer routine immunizations,” says Jennifer Beaver, Public Health Nurse with the immunizations team. “Many students missed getting their routine immunizations as a result.”

To help get students up to date, HPPH has been holding catch-up immunization clinics. In the fall of 2023, HPPH resumed in-school clinics.

HPPH has begun sending letters through the schools to parents/legal guardians of students with incomplete records.

Parents who receive a letter from HPPH regarding their child’s immunization records should do the following:

• If your child is up to date on their immunizations, please report this to HPPH either online at www.hpph.ca/icon or by calling 1-888-221-2133 ext. 3558
• If your child is not up to date on their immunizations, please book an appointment with your primary care provider and/or HPPH. To book an appointment with HPPH, call 1-888-221-2133 ext 3558. HPPH will also be holding vaccination clinics in the local high schools for high school students to get caught up. Dates and locations of the high school clinics are listed in the immunization letter from HPPH.

HPPH asks parents to respond to HPPH by March 4 to avoid a suspension notice. In late April, HPPH will mail suspension notices to students who have not provided proof of up-to-date immunizations. School suspensions will begin on May 23, 2024.

The Immunizations Team expects a high volume of calls over the next month and requests patience from parents as we work to update everyone’s records as quickly as possible.

Under ISPA, children who attend primary or secondary school in Ontario must be immunized against the following diseases or have a valid exemption:

• diphtheria
• tetanus
• polio
• measles
• mumps
• rubella
• meningitis (meningococcal disease)
• whooping cough (pertussis)
• chickenpox (varicella) – required for children born in 2010 or later

Children who do not get immunized are at increased risk of disease.

Parents must provide proof of their child’s immunizations to public health. Public health and healthcare providers do not share the same system for documenting immunizations, so it is important to let HPPH know if your child has received a vaccination at their primary care provider’s office.