Acting under the authority of Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupils Act (1990), the Windsor Essex County Health Unit announced yesterday that it had suspended 1519 secondary school students due to out of date immunization records.
The Act requires parents to provide their local health unit with proof of their child’s immunization against the following designate diseases:
- measles
- mumps
- rubella
- diphtheria
- tetanus
- polio
- meningococcal
- whooping cough (pertussis)
- chickenpox (only applies to kids born on or after 2010)
The Act also compels public health units to maintain and review vaccination records for every student attending school. The public health unit is authorized to enforce a school suspension where incomplete immunization records are found.
All the vaccines needed for school are free.
Yesterday’s suspensions of local students are substantially lower than the 7858 suspension orders issued to families in early August warning them of the need to update their children’s records. At that time, WECHU gave a deadline of Monday September 12 at 6:00 pm to provide updated vaccination information.
Once students are vaccinated and have provided an updated proof of vaccination to the health unit, their record is updated, the school principal is informed and they can return to class.