Some 15,000 Ottawa students could be suspended in early 2025 if they don’t get their vaccines up to date, the city’s public health agency warns.
After putting the suspensions on hold for the past two years, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) said in a report filed earlier this week with the Ottawa Board of Health that they would resume.
Students born in 2007 and 2017 whose vaccination record is incomplete and who are not exempt have until the new year to update it, failing which they will be suspended for up to 20 days.
According to Ottawa Public Health (OPH) medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches, the city has some catching up to do after pausing the program during the pandemic.
Ottawa Public Health staff were handling contact tracing. [COVID-19] and outbreak management, and we have not been sending out regular letters to remind parents and guardians that their child’s vaccination record is missing, she explained.
Dr. Etches noted that it is the responsibility of parents, not health care providers, to ensure their children’s vaccinations are up to date.
Warning letters in December
According to OPH, nearly 95 per cent of students in Ottawa’s public and private schools had up-to-date records before the COVID-19 pandemic. As the school year begins, only 60 per cent of them are properly vaccinated.
Since we have been monitoring vaccinations, we have never had so many cases [incomplets]Dr. Etches emphasized.
Under the Immunization of School Pupils Act, children attending school in Ontario must be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, rubella and meningococcal infections and, for children born in 2010 or later, against chickenpox.
We need this information to know, in the event of a measles or other outbreak, who can be protected and who should leave the school environment so as not to get sick and spread the outbreak, Etches said.
Open in full screen mode
Dr. Vera Etches, chief medical officer of Ottawa Public Health, says this is a province-wide problem. (File photo)
Photo : Radio-Canada / Jean Delisle
Students who have not received their required vaccinations will be mailed a letter in December informing them that they are at risk of suspension. At the beginning of the year, they will be informed of the date the suspension will begin.
If the student’s file is not updated within 20 days, he or she will be able to return to school, but will then have to start the procedure again.
We absolutely do not want children to be out of school. They need to be in school, and that is our goal, assured Dr. Etches.
A province-wide problem
According to the chief medical officer of public health, the problem of incomplete vaccination records is a province-wide problem.
Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit physician Dr. Linna Li said the same thing is happening in her area.
Many health units are experiencing a backlog, she said. So the number of children needing an assessment of their immunization record has increased compared to our usual baseline.
According to Dr. Li, 1,300 students in her jurisdiction received suspension warnings earlier this summer due to incomplete records. Today, only 60 students remain on that list.
Parents can update their children’s immunization records using the Immunization Connect Ontario (ICON) tool or the CANImmunize app, Ottawa Public Health says.
With information from Emma Wellerof CBC News
