Article Author:
Canadian Press
Holly McKenzie-Sutter
Thousands of students in Windsor, Ontario, Health units elsewhere in the state are giving families more time to catch up on routine immunizations after two years of pandemic turmoil, although they have received stop notices due to outdated immunization records.
Students ages 4 to 17 in this state may face suspension if they do not receive certain immunizations. But immunizations and related public health record-keeping have lagged during the COVID-19 pandemic and are not required to attend school but are available to students during the school year, according to the health department. Vaccinations are also being practiced.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit this week reviewed the records of secondary school students in June and after sending initial notices to students with incomplete immunization records, her 7,858 He said he had issued a cease and desist order.
Students now have until September 12th to update their records. Failure to do so could result in a suspension of up to 20 days starting Sept. 14, the health department said.
The Health Department, like many other departments in the state, operates catch-up vaccination clinics during the summer.
The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit said parents and caregivers should update their children about required immunizations by the end of the year, with notifications coming in early 2023. We plan to begin sending notifications including the date by which records must be submitted to avoid suspension.
The Toronto Department of Public Health also operates a catch-up immunization clinic, but in a statement to the Canadian Press noted that the pandemic has delayed the assessment of immunization records and that they are now reviewing them.
The final review, scheduled for the 2019-2020 academic year, was canceled in March 2020, and the work is being carried out "in response to the ongoing pandemic."
"This equates to more than two years of failure to conduct immunization assessments, keeping immunizations up to date." This equates to an overall reduction in students, or valid exemptions per 85. From 2018 to 2019, it will be 55% of what it is today,” the statement said.
Peterborough Public Health believes the COVID-19 disruption is preventing more students from being vaccinated than usual, and is also running a catch-up her clinic said.
Patti Fitzgerald, manager of the health department's vaccine-preventable diseases team, said in a statement that the health department may reconsider enforcing the immunization rule next year, but for now, it has been suspended. He said he did not give orders.
The Niagara Regional Public Health Department said it has not been able to comprehensively review recent immunization records because of the pandemic and is running catch-up clinics for students.
"We plan to resume the records review process next year. Also, several factors related to records are causing more children than usual to It is expected that we are not keeping records on file during the COVID-19 pandemic," spokesperson Courtney Westerhoff said in an email.
The Ottawa Public Health Service said it will send reminders this school year to parents of children with outdated vaccination records.
Health Department Program Manager Natalie Shane said during the pandemic, "We have limited ability to enter and evaluate immunization records," and Ottawa Public Health has of students are expected to have a clearer picture of who is falling behind during the next school year.
"At this time, we estimate that due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a higher than usual number of students will not be vaccinated," Shane said in an email. said. statement.
The health department said it was exploring options to help students keep up with immunizations. In order to attend school, immunizations against certain diseases such as polio, measles, tetanus, mumps and diphtheria are compulsory.
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Earlier this year, some advocated adding his COVID-19 vaccination to the list of required immunizations, but Ontario's top medical The person in charge has ruled out that possibility for the time being.
Other immunizations, such as human papillomavirus, hepatitis B, and meningococcal disease, do not require school attendance, but are usually delayed for students at school-based clinics due to the pandemic. These vaccinations are also part of catch-up clinics that are currently planned or ongoing, according to the health department.
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