Over 1,000 elementary students suspended for out-of-date vaccination records
Posted May 7, 2026 09:24:17 AM.
Last Updated May 7, 2026 10:27:51 AM.
Just over 1,300 elementary students in Waterloo Region won’t be in class because their vaccination records are out of date.
Region of Waterloo Public Health issued the suspension notices on Thursday.
At the start of the year, over nine thousand students were sent home with warning letters, noting their records needed to be updated.
In March, that number was down to 7,065. Public Health officials said that is not an unusual number, noting in a release, “these numbers are consistent with historical Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) trends in Waterloo Region.”
Those 1,351 students won’t be able to return to school until their records are up-to-date or a valid exemption is sorted out.
In April, 704 high school students were suspended for out-of-date vaccination records.
“Vaccines help protect children from serious illness,” said Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, Medical Officer of Health, Region of Waterloo. “Keeping students up to date with their vaccinations is an important part of protecting the health of our community.”
Those vaccinations include protection against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, meningitis, pertussis (whooping cough), and varicella (chickenpox).
Vaccines can be reported here.
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