HALDIMAND—The Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU) is the proponent behind pending suspension orders that were issued to over 1,000 local students during the first week of the new year.
The order, sent to 652 elementary students and 427 high school students, tasks the students’ families with supplying up-to-date immunization records by February 7 or the students face suspensions of up to 20 days.
The order was made in accordance with the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA), which is designed to ensure all students under 18 are protected in the case of a viral outbreak on campus. The Health Unit is responsible for collecting and maintaining those records.
The pending suspensions for this year apply to students born in 2007, 2015, and 2016.
Students must be able to show proof of vaccination for the following: tetanus, diptheria, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, measles, mumps, rubella, meningitis, and varicella (chicken pox). They do not, however, need to show proof of a Covid vaccine, as that is not a current requirement to attend school.
“There is a general misconception that immunizations received from a person’s healthcare provider are reported to Public Health on their behalf,” said HNHU Vaccine Preventable Diseases program manager Eric Robertson. “In fact, parents have an important role to play. It is their responsibility to report the immunizations their child receives to the Health Unit.”
Robertson said the numbers this year are “higher than we would like to see,” but are consistent with last year’s ISPA enforcement numbers.
He noted how the pandemic impacted HNHU’s ability to collect and maintain records: “During the pandemic, our service delivery was changed to focus on the priority work of Covid-19. Since resuming regular vaccine preventable disease teamwork, we are unfortunately playing catch up. Likewise, the ability for clients to seek out the required immunizations during the pandemic was also hindered.”
He said the high numbers the last two years were anticipated, given the decreased tracking capacity from 2020-22.
While Robertson could not speculate on what percentage of the involved students have not received the required vaccinations compared to the number that simply have not properly submitted the records, but he noted, “It’s realistic to believe that a number of children are actually up to date with their immunizations. We see this as records are being submitted through this process.”
