Proof of vaccination status could stop outbreaks spreading in schools, says B.C.'s health officer

B.C.'s provincial health officer Perry Kendall says requiring parents to provide proof of their children's vaccination status could help stop sudden spreads of preventable illnesses in schools.

"I think it's a great idea," said Kendall. "We would know in a very timely fashion in advance whether there were children who were vulnerable. So, if we got a case of measles or whooping cough, we would know which kids to send home until the outbreak was over."

Kendall's statement comes after the Canadian Medical Association passed a resolution this week, calling on governments to authorize schools to require parents to declare their child's immunization status.

He says requiring parents to provide proof of vaccination status could also help schools engage with "vaccine hesitant" parents who aren't deeply opposed to the idea, but have lingering concerns.

"We can target parents of children who aren't immunized. We can find out what the reasons for that are. We can try and address any concerns they might have," he said.

Policy not aimed at 'anti-vaxxers'

A recently released Statistics Canada report on national immunization coverage revealed that, as of 2013, vaccination rates for Canada's two-year-olds hover between 75 to 92 per cent, depending on the shot.

But the Canadian Medical Association says those rates should be higher.

"We know that vaccines are safe and effective, so really this is a way of expressing our concern, and suggesting one way to perhaps increase vaccination rates in all provinces and territories,"  said Dr. Cindy Forbes.

Forbes said requiring proof of vaccination status will be most effective when targeted not at so-called "anti-vaxxers" but rather, the larger group of parents whose children are not immunized for a whole host of different reasons.

"Perhaps they don't have a family doctor, or they've changed provinces, and it's a different schedule, or they missed a few shots or simply forgot. Vaccine reluctance is not just one single cause."

No records could mean exclusion

Ontario and New Brunswick are the only provinces that currently require immunization records when a child is being registered for school.

Following Ontario's lead, Kendall said ultimately, B.C. may consider temporarily excluding children whose parents refused to provide their vaccination status.

"In jurisdictions in Ontario where they have this requirement and where the public health authorities follow up, the levels of vaccine coverage are somewhat higher than they are in B.C," he said.

"Our levels are not actually sufficient to guarantee herd immunity and we clearly have some communities where the levels of vaccine coverage are very, very low."

"We should do everything we can do get the levels of vaccine coverage higher."