Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is asking families to ensure their children and youth are up to date with their routine vaccines. Keeping your child’s vaccinations up to date is one of the most effective ways to protect them from serious illnesses, reduce disruptions to learning, and help prevent the spread of vaccine-preventable-disease in schools and the community. Supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of students and schools remains a priority for OPH.
What are routine vaccinations?
To attend school in Ontario, under the Immunization of School Pupils (ISPA) Act, students need to be vaccinated against nine vaccine-preventable diseases. These include diphtheria, measles, meningococcal disease, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella, tetanus, and varicella (required for children born in 2010 or after), or have a valid exemption on file with OPH. These vaccines are offered across the province at no cost. The start of the school year is a great time to ensure your child’s routine vaccines are up to date.
Here’s what you can do to ensure your child is up to date in three easy steps:
Check your child’s vaccine record. Compare the records you have with the Publicly Funded Immunization Schedule↗ to make sure your child’s vaccinations are reported and up to date.
Report your child’s vaccine(s) to Ottawa Public Health (OPH)↗. Your child may be up to date with their vaccines, but OPH may not have their most current vaccine information on file. Healthcare providers do not routinely report vaccinations to OPH, so it is important that parents and guardians update this information regularly. There are several ways to report your child’s vaccines to OPH, including submitting their records online↗, through the Immunization Connect Ontario Tool (ICON)↗, or using the CANImmunize App↗.
Get your child vaccinated if they’re missing any vaccines. Your child’s healthcare provider is the primary and recommended source for all routine vaccinations. Speak to your child’s healthcare provider and have them vaccinated with any missing vaccines. Families facing barriers to accessing routine vaccines or those who don’t have a healthcare provider can book an appointment at a Kids Come First clinic↗. Additionally, OPH offers drop-in clinics at the Neighbourhood Health and Wellness Hubs↗.
Annual Assessment of Student Vaccination Records
This fall, OPH will be reviewing student vaccine records and sending letters to parents and guardians of students born in 2009 and 2019 whose records do not meet ISPA requirements. Before considering suspensions, OPH works with parents and guardians to help them understand routine vaccination requirements, report and update their child’s records, and if needed, get any missing vaccines. Suspensions are only enforced as a last resort when a parent does not respond to the first or second letter advising them of the missing information.
Parents and caregivers can visit OttawaPublicHealth.ca/ChildVaccines↗ for more information on routine vaccines, where to get routine vaccines, and how to report routine vaccines to OPH.
Residents can also connect with OPH on Facebook↗, Instagram↗, Bluesky↗ and YouTube↗.