Students' vaccination records must be up-to-date: health unit

Health Sciences North and the Sudbury and District Health Unit remind parents to make sure their children's vaccinations are up-to-date.

To attend school, all children in elementary and secondary school must provide proof of vaccination (or a valid exemption) against the following diseases: diphtheria; tetanus; polio; measles; mumps; rubella; meningococcal disease; pertussis (whooping cough); and varicella (chickenpox) – for children born in 2010 or later.

The number of required doses of each vaccine must also align with the Ontario publicly funded immunization schedule.

“History and research have proven that vaccines are safe and the most effective tool to prevent children from becoming ill and spreading diseases such as chickenpox, measles, meningococcal disease and pertussis,” said Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, Sudbury and District medical officer of health, in a press release.

“Our goal is to protect the health of students and keep them in school. However, if there is an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease, we verify all records and any unvaccinated children are issued orders to prohibit them from attending school. This is for everyone’s safety.”

Currently, health care providers are not required to report their patients’ vaccinations to local public health units — that responsibility lies with parents and guardians. Parents can contact the health unit to check if public health has current records of their child's vaccinations on file.

“In the past few years, across North America, there have been clusters of outbreaks of such easily preventable diseases as chickenpox and measles, and in some cases, these diseases could lead to serious long-term health problems for children who are not vaccinated,” said Dr. Sean Murray, pediatrician and medical director of NEO Kids, Health Sciences North's centre for outpatient children’s care.

“I want to assure parents that vaccines are safe and they give children the best protection against these diseases.”

To update or request a copy of your child’s vaccination records, or for more information about vaccination requirements for school attendance, contact the Sudbury and District Health Unit at 705-522-9200, ext. 458 or visit www.sdhu.com.