Huron Perth Public Health says over 1,500 students are at risk of being suspended from school due to incomplete immunization records.
Karen Bergin-Payette, Manager of Immunizations at HPPH, says keeping kids' immunizations up to date is beneficial for everyone. School children need to be immunized against a number of different diseases legally under the Immunizing School Pupils Act.
"If students immunizations are up to date, they're well, they're healthy and they're able to stay in school and they're able to learn to their best potential. If you have sick children, they usually have to stay at home or if there's an outbreak and someone's not immunized against the disease that's circulating around the school, they have to stay home," explained Bergin-Payette.
Bergin-Payette says they have reached out to parents and guardians in the region regarding student immunization records. She says they're hoping they can get the situation resolved.
"The worst case scenario is we don't hear from a parent. We've partnered with our local school boards and the principals are going to be trying to et ahold of the parents or guardians of these students where we've tried multiple attempts to get in touch with them, sent multiple notices and we can't get in touch. If that continues, the student will not be able to attend school as of May 23," Bergin-Payette stated.
HPPH says the immunizations received before and during school prevent the contraction of many diseases, and for those who aren't updated or complete, parents or guardians need to choose one of two routes to prevent suspensions.
"People just have to choose do you want to go down the route of immunizing or do you wanna go down the route of exemption. But knowing, with an exemption, if there is an outbreak in your child's school, your child can not attend if it's for one of the immunizations that they have not received," added Bergin-Payette.
There are nine different immunizations that kids receive throughout their early childhood and school ages, and Bergin-Payette says many are given before kids even attend school.
"Things like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio, babies receive their immunizations at 2, 4, 6 and 18 months. Things like measles, mumps and rubella, that is given at a year and then given again at 4-6 years," Bergin-Payette noted.
However, there are a few shots that are given out during school years.
"Men C (Meningococcal C), that's given in Grade 7 and then usually Hepatitis B and HPV are given in Grade 7, as well, but they are not included in the Immunization of School Pupils act, so Hep B and HPV you can't be suspended for. Then, usually at 14-16 years, you receive another booster for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis," added Bergin-Payette.
Bergin-Payette also points out that, due to the volume of people calling their HPPH lines every day, on top of parents trying to confirm and catch up on immunization records, the staff are very busy. She asks that everyone remain patient when they call in.
"For the most part we have worked really well with all of our parents. If there is a bit of a delay returning your calls, we've had large volumes of calls and we just ask parents to be very patient and very kind with the nurses that are following up with them," Bergin-Payette concluded.
According to HPPH, initially there were more than 5,100 incomplete records and about 70 percent of those records have been updated since January 2024 when HPPH began sending notifications to parents/legal guardians.
Parents who receive a suspension order are asked to do one of the following:
-If your child is up to date on their immunizations, go to www.hpph.ca/icon to report the required information online, or call HPPH at 1-888-221-2133 ext. 3558.
-If your child is not up to date on their immunizations, contact your healthcare provider. If you do not have a healthcare provider, contact HPPH to book an appointment at a catch-up immunization clinic. Appointments can be booked online at www.hpph.ca/catchup or by calling HPPH at 1-888-221-2133 ext. 3558.
-If your child has a valid exemption due to medical reasons, conscience or religious beliefs, or you wish to obtain an exemption, visit www.hpph.ca/exemption and follow the required steps. The suspension order also provides instructions on how to obtain a valid exemption. A suspension order will be cancelled (rescinded) if parents update their child’s record with HPPH before the suspension date.
The Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) requires elementary and secondary school students to be immunized against certain diseases to attend school, or to have a valid exemption. The purpose of the Act is to protect the health of children against these preventable diseases. It is the responsibility of parents/legal guardians to provide proof of their child’s immunizations, or to provide a valid exemption, to public health.
