Incomplete immunization means risk of suspension for students
600 notices sent out - Records need to be updated by February 7th

Letters are being sent to parents of high school students this week, warning that students face suspension if their immunization records are not up to date.

The warnings are aimed at parents who haven't provided the health unit with complete immunization records for their children. They'll have until Feb. 7 to make sure the records are up-to-date, after which the suspensions come into effect and stay in effect until the information is complete.

An estimated 600 notices of suspension went out.

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit sent the letters out as part of an annual program to update all student immunization records, as required under the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA).

The act requires parents to provide the health unit with proof of completed immunization for measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria and polio - or with the appropriate documentation if they choose not to have their child immunized.

"These records are a very important guarantee of the safety of all students in our schools," says Laurie Stanford, the manager of vaccine preventable disease programs at the health unit. "The records help us keep our vaccination rates high, and when there are disease outbreaks, they pinpoint which students are not vaccinated and should be taking measures to avoid becoming infected."

This is the second notice parents have received regarding the immunization records; a first notice went out before Christmas break. The health unit also provided immunization clinics in all secondary schools in Simcoe County and the District of Muskoka in December.

Ten high schools are being targeted this year in communities across Muskoka and Simcoe.

"There's another advantage to these letters of suspension, in that our immunization coverage rates always rise when they are sent out," Stanford adds. "That's additional protection for the students and the whole community at large."

Stanford also points out that this is the last chance many high school students have to get complete immunization records before they graduate and begin to manage their own health needs.

Stanford is confident the actual number of suspensions issued will be low. "It's not hard to update the records," she said.

"And for most parents, missing the updates is just an oversight."

Students who need vaccines can get them from their family doctors or at the health unit.

The health unit has immunization clinics at health unit offices in Gravenhurst, Huntsville, Orillia, Midland, Barrie, Collingwood and Cookstown.

More information on immunization can also be obtained by calling Health Connection at 721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.