Over 1,400 Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph students face suspension over incomplete vaccination records
James Chaarani | CBC News | Posted: March 20, 2024 11:00 AM | Last Updated: March 20
Over 10,000 students in Waterloo region have incomplete records with suspension deadline looming
Over 1,400 students under the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) system have incomplete vaccination records and are facing suspension orders Wednesday. These orders are issued by the medical officer of health, Nicola Mercer.
1,478 of the students are in elementary schools, and had been warned as far back as January by WDGPH. They were given a Mar. 6 deadline to get up to date but that had been extended by two weeks.
Eight high school students have already received suspension orders between Feb. 14 and Feb. 15 depending on their school board.
"The school works with us. They help make sure that the students and family receive the order when that student isn't up to date with the immunization records or otherwise not compliant with the legislation," said Matthew Tenenbaum, the associate medical officer of health with WDGPH.
Tenenbaum pointed to the province's Immunization of School Pupils Act, which legally mandates some vaccinations for students in Ontario schools who don't have exemptions.
He said that common vaccinations missing from records include diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, meningitis, and whooping cough.
"We really have, over the course of the past several months since January, made sure that any family who could be affected by this knows they could be affected, had multiple reminders, explanations of the consequences so that no one should be surprised when this comes into effect," Tenenbaum said.
Reasons for incomplete immunization records
There isn't one specific reason why students have incomplete immunization records according to Tenenbaum, but he said that it can be attributed to some falling behind during COVID-19. In some cases, vaccine hesitancy could be playing a role too, he explained.
He said that some students may have also been vaccinated for certain illnesses but their records haven't been updated.
"I will emphasize that all the required vaccines are the vaccines against things like whooping cough and measles and mumps that we've had as part of the regular immunization schedule in Ontario for years," he said.
Tenenbaum said that vaccinations can be booked with WDGPH or a family doctor, but suspended students won't be permitted back in the classroom unless they complete a full cycle of a given vaccine, not just the first dose.
Deadline for Waterloo students looming
The deadline for Region of Waterloo students is Mar. 27 for elementary schools and May 1 for high schools, but the number of students with incomplete records dwarf those figures in Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph.
As of Mar. 5, over 10,000 students in the region have incomplete vaccination records, however this is down from 18,643 the previous month.
A spokesperson with the region said that these are the most recent public figures but the medical officer of health will be updating council on the issue later on Wednesday.