Elementary school students have three weeks to get updated vaccination records: ROW Public Health

Region of Waterloo Public Health will begin issuing suspensions for thousands of elementary school children without updated vaccination records, or an exemption, beginning on Mar. 27.

Last month, the region handed out 18,643 suspension notices under the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) to elementary school-aged children with outdated records. They also received over 10,000 online record submissions and emails, while answering over 2,500 phone calls and carried out over 2,500 vaccinations.

Public health said there are still 10,453 vaccine records that remain outdated as of Mar. 5, making up approximately two thirds of children aged four to seven, or junior kindergarten to grade two.

“With increased global measles activity and recent cases of measles in Ontario, it is very important to ensure your children are protected against this serious and preventable disease,” said Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, Medical Officer of Health for Waterloo Region, in a statement. “The measles vaccine is part of the routine vaccinations required under the Immunization for School Pupils Act.”

Annual enforcement of the ISPA did not happen during the pandemic and public health noted a decrease in vaccine rates among school-aged children. The last time students were suspended under the ISPA was in 2019, with around 1,032 students.

Suspensions for local secondary school students due to outdated vaccine records will take effect on May 1.