More than 14,000 Ottawa schoolchildren have out-of-date vaccine records

Ottawa's associate medical officer of health says thousands of children in the capital are behind on their shots.

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) will resume ongoing surveillance and enforcement of the Immunization of School Pupils Act this school year by sending letters to parents and guardians who have not reported their children's up-to-date vaccination records to public health for the vaccines required to attend school.

Dr. Trevor Arnason tells CTV News Ottawa that OPH is focused on 7-year-olds and 17-year-olds right now.

"Those are very important milestones for vaccination and we're seeing about 7,000 potentially out of date with their reporting on immunizations," he said.

Ottawa Public Health told CTV News Ottawa on Thursday that approximately 7,000 7-year-olds and 7,000 17-year-olds are out of date with their immunizations.

Under the Act, children attending school in Ontario are required to be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and meningococcal disease. Children born in or after 2010 must also be vaccinated against varicella (chicken pox).

Parents or guardians are responsible for updating Ottawa Public Health every time their child gets a vaccine. Not doing so could mean your child can be suspended from school until his or her immunization record is updated.

"It's important to note that we're not talking about suspensions yet in Ottawa. We're talking about assessing the records and sending the reminders and giving the opportunity before," Arnason said.

"Over the school year, we are going to be reminding parents who are not up to date in reporting those immunizations to us, which is required by law, that they need to get their children updated with their vaccines."

Arnason says it's a long process to actually suspend a child from school over out-of-date immunization records.

"We send two mail reminders and we really are focused on the opportunities for vaccination… Normally, we would be sending the letters in the fall and proceeding into the winter. Really, we don't talk about suspensions until those letters have gone out," he said.

"This is really a reminder, it isn't threatening at all. It is time to be prepared because many people get the letter at the same time and will be seeking vaccines through their family doctor… so now is the best time to avoid the process all together."

Arnason also suggested people download the CANImmunize app.

"It's actually an Ottawa invention by a local doctor who was in this situation and it's a great tool that everyone can use because it can teach you what vaccinations you need at each age and it reports it automatically to Ottawa Public Health, if you make that selection," he said.

OPH says if you receive a letter informing you that your child's immunization record is out of date, you should take the following steps:

1. Review your child’s immunization record.
2. If your child has received their vaccines, update your child’s immunization record with Ottawa Public Health.
3. If your child has not received their vaccines, have your child receive their vaccines through their healthcare provider, a walk-in clinic or through one of the Ottawa Public Health immunization clinics.
4. Update your child’s immunization record with Ottawa Public Health once they receive their vaccine(s).

If you do not have copies of your child’s immunization record, OPH says you should contact your health care provider to obtain a copy.

Rates of immunization among children have been lagging ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, when schools were shut down for months. Public Health Ontario says routine vaccination rates among 7-year-olds remained low in 2022-23. OPH says, however, that rates among 7-year-olds in Ottawa were much higher than the past three pandemic years and compared to the Ontario average, across all vaccines. Coverage among 17-year-olds in Ottawa was slightly higher than the Ontario average, as well.

Ottawa Public Health has information on where to get a child vaccinated on its Parenting in Ottawa website, including details about school vaccination clinics, community vaccination clinics, neighbourhood wellness hubs, and clinics for First Nations, Inuit and Métis residents. Details about medical and non-medical exemptions can also be found on the Parenting in Ottawa website.

Earlier this week, the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit said more than 1,300 students in its region could face suspension from school because of out-of-date immunization records.