6,819 Waterloo Region students suspended from school for not having up-to-date vaccinations

6,819 secondary school students have been suspended from school by Waterloo Public Health Region for not having up-to-date vaccination records.

According to public health officials, these students will be suspended if their records are not updated or a valid waiver is not presented by Tuesday, April 30 at 4:30 p.m. The suspension will begin on Wednesday, May 1st.

According to the region, the majority of these middle school students lack one or both of the following:

• Meningococcal ACYW-135 vaccine
• Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis Teenage Booster (Tdap) – Required 10 years after the previous shot (usually given between ages 4 and 6)

“If a parent asks the question, 'Why did I receive this letter?' I don't know. I think my child is getting the most up-to-date information.”Call Us . We'd rather solve the problem now than wait until a child is suspended or a student is suspended and say, “Oh, what's going on here?” '' said David Aoki, Director of Communicable Disease, Sexual Health and Harm Reduction for Waterloo Region.

To avoid suspension of their middle school children, parents are being told to make an appointment online or provide up-to-date records. Alternatively, a parent or guardian may submit a valid medical or philosophical (conscience exemption statement) online or in person. Those applying for a philosophical exemption must complete an online education session before receiving their certificate.

“While we continue to work with families to resolve remaining elementary school suspensions, we would like to remind families of middle school students who received suspension notices to ensure their immunization records are updated by May 1st. We urge you to act quickly,” said Dr. Shui Li Wang. Waterloo Region's medical officer of health said in a news release. “Students who are not vaccinated are at increased risk of contracting serious infections and spreading the infection to other students.”

On April 8, the district announced that it had issued out-of-school suspension orders for elementary school students who did not have up-to-date vaccination records, and that 410 elementary school students remained suspended. Parents who want to resolve this issue can arrange an appointment with a public health agency. Staff said they are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible for outstanding students.

In January, the region sent out just over 10,000 notices to parents and guardians who had completed secondary education. He said the number of undeclared students in the region is increasing. The region typically sends out notices every year, but has not done so since 2019 due to the pandemic.

According to the Immunization of School Students Act, it is the duty of parents to report immunization records to public health authorities. The law allows local health departments to suspend students for up to 20 days.

“Please don't wait 20 days. This is not a value judgment on our part, we are simply following conduct,” Aoki said.

Typically, when districts send out notifications, they don't report that about two-thirds to 75% of people involved have been vaccinated. According to the region, this year there were about three times as many orders for elementary school students as usual.

“That's not a concern. In the case of elementary, I think they got the shot, they just didn't report it. Even in elementary school in general, the first record from parents when they register for kindergarten. Most of the time, children registered for kindergarten during the pandemic, so we weren't actively tracking those records. The number has increased,” Aoki said.

According to Aoki, orders from junior high school students were about twice as many as usual.

“That's a good sign. It means they're continuing to catch up. There's a lot less to deal with in high school than in elementary school,” Aoki said.

The district said most students receive the meningococcal vaccine in seventh grade, but that was not possible due to the pandemic. Clinics are being offered at schools this year to keep students up to date. Aoki said there are still multiple appointments available for students to get the latest information.