News Feature                   For Immediate Release

September 3, 2004

School Suspension Notices on the Rise in Grey-Bruce

Over 800 students received a suspension notice for not having up-to-date immunization records during the 2003-2004 school year. Many parents responded to the notices and avoided suspension for their child. However, over 26% of the 800 students were suspended. Susan Shular, Program Manager of the Vaccine Preventable Diseases Program, states, “This is a 70% increase of suspension notices over the past 2 years and has the Public Health Unit concerned.”

To attend school in Ontario, all students must be immunized according to the Immunization of School Pupils Act. This Act was put in place to protect students from vaccine preventable diseases such as diphtheria, measles, mumps, polio, Rubella, and tetanus. The role of public health in Ontario is to determine if student immunizations are up to date. During the 2003-2004 school year, our local public health unit assessed the immunization records of 27,406 students in Grey-Bruce schools.

Many parents do not realize that family physicians do not forward immunization records

to Public Health. It is the parent’s sole responsibility to inform Public Health when their child receives an immunization. “By providing immunization information to Public Health, parents can avoid receiving a suspension notice. It is also important for parents to keep their own record of their child’s immunizations,” states Sylvia Brooks, Public Health Nurse.

Students may be exempted from immunization if they have certain medical conditions or on grounds of religious or philosophical beliefs if proper documentation is provided. These students may be excluded from school if there is an outbreak of a vaccine preventable disease in their community.

For more information, or to update your child’s immunization records, please contact Public Health at 376-9420 or 1-800-263-3456 and ask to speak to a member of the immunization team.

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For more information:

Sylvia Brooks

Public Health Nurse, Vaccine Preventable Diseases Program

Grey Bruce Health Unit

376-9420 or 1-800-263-3456 ext.287

Corrie Marshall

Public Health Nurse, Vaccine Preventable Diseases Program

Grey Bruce Health Unit

881-1920 ext.226