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Home My WebLink AboutOver 25,000 students could be suspended in blitz for better vaccine coverage - Ottawa Citizen - 12/09/2018 - Ottawa Citizen - 12/09/201812/10/2018 More than 25,000 students could be suspended in vaccine -coverage blitz 1 Ottawa Citizen Over 25,000 students could be suspended in blitz for better vaccine coverage ELIZABETH PAYNE (HTTPS://OTTAWACITIZEN.COM/AUTHOR/EPAYNE58) Updated: December 9, 2018 111 ,,,....... ,..1110l1,11,011,110, 111111111 1111111 111 ..• •• '11;111 . ,!!!!11111111,, . •• )11111:111'11111:1',11 1". ,d1111111 111111111111111 .1111111.1' rt / iyfflfflI I I _111111111 ,1 Ill 1, .1111 1 1111i 1, 11, 11,11111)1,1 11 11 111 '1111,1, 111 ()1/ ,111r 111,1 I HI 11)d ) JEAN LEVAC / POSTMEDIA More than 25,000 Ottawa students have been warned to get their immunization records up to https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/over-25000-students-could-be-suspended-in-blitz-for-better-vaccine-coverage 1/9 12/10/2018 More than 25,000 students could be suspended in vaccine -coverage blitz 1 Ottawa Citizen date or face suspension. The students at the city's four public school boards and private schools received notices in recent weeks from Ottawa Public Health khttps://domain.com/tag/ottawa-public-health). Beginning in January, students attending French elementary schools whose immunization records are still not updated will be suspended. Suspension notices will go out to students at other boards and private schools in subsequent weeks. Suspension notices have become a routine part of the school year in Ottawa for thousands of students since Ottawa Public Health began increasing immunization surveillance in 2015 with yearly reviews of all students' records. � 10„111„.1•11'1•11•'1.„,„„„„, �f �1f i ��'R,��'�,� ,,r,„,„\‘,*i, „i uo'„��° i i i ,i, IIII, i11 1111111111111111111111111111111111 111111111111111111111 111 111. 111 11 111,111‘' li'f1)11i''1('1)')''k'''1'111111'1'1'1'11111111111111111111111'1'111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111!!!!:1:11151'11?1,11\:'"I'''''''11,11,11111010111111111101 1111111100 111101010 l11.1 111111111111111111111111111111111111111 111111111111111111111111111111111111 eir Ogle W°5 11111111 bo111,11111111,111 eoo11111111111111111111111111.;ii 1111111111111 11111111111111111iiimiii N �11111111 stir n tI- 1s f1le sl"1?,ti.;— d l rea 1t." r 111, 11 11111'er, i e; rl� ��,r_ "<� it r ". gar C111e. LEO CORREA / AP Routine childhood immunization against infectious diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella are mandatory for school children under Ontario law unless their parents are granted exemptions for religious, philosophical or religious reasons. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/over-25000-students-cou ld-be-suspended-in-bl itz-for-better-vacci ne-coverage 2/9 12/10/2018 More than 25,000 students could be suspended in vaccine -coverage blitz 1 Ottawa Citizen With the return of vaccine preventable childhood diseases — including a 30 per cent increase in measles cases worldwide last year — there has been a growing public health focus on ensuring children's immunizations are up to date. At times Ottawa Public Health's approach to immunization appears to be chaotic, with 17 per cent of students receiving notices this fall. But public health officials say the system works: Not only has the number of students with incomplete immunization records dropped significantly in the past three years, but Ottawa children also have vaccination rates above provincial and national averages. In 2015, when the intensified surveillance began, Ottawa Public Health sent warning letters to 58,740 students. This year, 25,781 notices were sent. Lorette Dupuis, program manager of the immunization program at Ottawa Public Health, said the health unit would like to see that annual list of students with incomplete records reduced to 20,000, but it is unlikely to be much less than that. About 8,000 new children enter the school system each year and many of those already in the school system face new vaccination requirements, which means thousands each year have incomplete records. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/over-25000-students-cou ld-be-suspended-in-bl itz-for-better-vacci ne-coverage 3/9 12/10/2018 More than 25,000 students could be suspended in vaccine -coverage blitz 1 Ottawa Citizen Y111 hP�� N�w4lll�+IlwweYiYl,lolllYlYdWBjId t1�YYi1�l llfauul m pII 11I1Illlliillllll1111' 11'W1N11,Iylylm 0110 '111111 1.111.11,111111111111111' ••• 11111, '1.111.1111 1 m .,�muilmlj 111111 11111111111111,101111111iiiilllli'l 11111.,I 1h1911101111 °1 I11111111111I1111i),, 111 Iuu1 IIIIhYIItlllln�l IhII Ihil II ��b ��rrirrrrrr��rrrrr'r'riiiil1p 111111111111111111 J'�� II gmIIIplll�l��liiiiiiiii�iiiiiiiiiigiiiiiiiiiiiiiifI,y,»�l��r(.,Im�ILYl,l�iill I 1 1 11 11 Mil ill 111111111'7 11 1 1111 11 m111111liliiiliuiuuuuuuuuuuuuuuui ;liiiiVid, nn iiiiii111111111111111 111 111111 11111 1 1 i;;1 11 I 11 , 111 1111 / 1 11 11 111" 111 1 11 Irl )rl: 11,,, !, .111'rl I I ,','1',11 1n I11;';� 11111 ,'P ''I1 111 � 1 1 1 11 11 I 111, 1 111 1 1 1 I II LUKE HENDRY /LUKE HENDRY/BELLEVILLE INTELLIGENCER/QMI AGENCY Around 85 per cent of students who receive warning notices update their records before facing suspension, Dupuis said, but hundreds of students are suspended every year. Any suspensions this year will take place between Jan. 16 and Feb. 28. Dupuis said Ottawa Public Health had been receiving between 300-500 online submissions a day updating students' health records. Catch-up clinics by Ottawa Public Health are fully booked, Dupuis said, but families are encouraged to contact their health providers to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, in a report presented to the city's health board earlier this year, Ottawa Public Health said it aimed to increase coverage in under- vaccinated populations. Among other things, public health officials are improving access for newcomers living in shelters. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/over-25000-students-cou ld-be-suspended-in-bl itz-for-better-vacci ne-coverage 4/9 12/10/2018 More than 25,000 students could be suspended in vaccine -coverage blitz 1 Ottawa Citizen Ottawa Public Health is also focusing on vaccine -hesitant families. More than 4,800 Ottawa students are exempted from one or more vaccines, more than half of them for philosophical reasons. Ottawa Public Health says it is working to better understand the vaccine hesitant in the community. It is developing a communications strategy to "promote immunization, increase knowledge about immunization and dispel myths about vaccines." RELATED A century ago, the Spanish Lady came to Ottawa, claiming more than 500 lives (https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/a-century-ago-the-spanish-lady- came-to-ottawa-claiming-more-than-500-lives) Tone down the rhetoric, advises former anti-vax mother (https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/tone-down-the-rhetoric-advises- former-anti-vax-mother) 'Are we ready?': Canada and the world have work to do before next pandemic, say experts (https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/are-we- ready-canada-and-the-world-have-work-to-do-before-next-pandemic-say-experts) The majority of families receiving suspension notices are not vaccine hesitant, but have either failed to update records or been delayed in getting their children vaccinated. Ottawa Public Health is also focusing on increasing coverage rates for vaccines such as HPV, which around 60 per cent of students receive. The vaccine, which protects against viruses that cause some forms of cancer, has only recently been expanded for offering to boys and girls in Grade 7. It is not mandatory under the province's immunization of school pupils act. Coverage of the vaccines that are mandatory — measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, polio and pertussis — has increased in Ottawa since the annual student immunization review began. More than 93 per cent of seven year olds have received measles vaccines, while more than 96 per cent of 17 year olds are covered. Before the blitz to https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/over-25000-students-cou ld-be-suspended-in-bl itz-for-better-vacci ne-coverage 5/9 12/10/2018 More than 25,000 students could be suspended in vaccine -coverage blitz 1 Ottawa Citizen update immunization records, public health officials did not have an accurate picture of how many children in the city were immunized. How to update your child's immunization records: Call 613 -PARENTS or go to ParentinginOttawa.ca/immunization (http://parentinginottawa.ca/immunization) . ALSO IN THE NEWS A patient coughed up this huge blood clot that perfectly replicates the airways of his lung (https://ottawacitizen.com/health/a-patient-coughed-up- this-huge-blood-clot-that-perfectly-replicates-the-airways-of-his- lung/wcm/c07b3a7f-aea0-4a5c-a2ee-4f60007bf26e) Public online directory of Veterans Affairs staff made secret because of safety concerns, department says (https://ottawacitizen.com/news/public- online-directory-of-veterans-affairs-staff-made-secret-because-of-safety- concerns-department-says/wcm/84b53782-dc82-47df-a9e5-8ef26ddf205e) New goal for Gee -Gees hockey player Jean -Robin Mantha: beating cancer (https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/new-goal-for-gee-gees-hockey- player-jean-robin-mantha-beating-cancer) Help the poor: Stop donating canned goods to food banks (https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/buying-canned-goods-to-donate-to-food- banks-is-inefficient-and-misguided-donate-money-instead/wcm/9c29fdab-afb9- 42f0-a34c-d0a7bd3e2237) TRENDING VIDEOS 0 Podcast leads to i against Australian cold case disappE wife The disappearance nearly 40 years ago of Lynette... https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/over-25000-students-cou ld-be-suspended-in-bl itz-for-better-vaccine-coverage 6/9 12/10/2018 More than 25,000 students could be suspended in vaccine -coverage blitz i Ottawa Citizen This Week's Flyers 111111111111111111111111111111 SMART 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 Ol4SHNO 11.4i0 3 T 4 SNOW 1111111111111111111111111111 0.WVNO0I1110 luuuuuuuu111111111111111uuuuuuuuuuuuu� 111111111111111111111111111111111111 < Previous 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 miiilTTmimi� ilii umi A fiF THIS MONTH! _fir 11111111111 Hover for Ill::IIyeur Comments II°Illoveur four Ill:lIIyeur II°Illo'veur four IIf::lllyeur 1POweired by We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page (http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/story.html?id=7195492) for more information. 6 Comments Add a comment... Sort by Top Dairy Reid When I was a kid, doctors and nurses would come to the school. All kids would be assembled in the gym. And every kid got a vaccination. Used to happen yearly. Like • Reply • 5 • 15h Beverley Bell That's an excellent point. I wonder why they stopped doing that 1 .La . Rordwi • ') . lAh https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/over-25000-students-cou ld-be-suspended-in-bl itz-for-better-vacci ne-coverage 7/9 12/10/2018 More than 25,000 students could be suspended in vaccine -coverage blitz i Ottawa Citizen unc iwNiy L i •-rii Rana Tahiiir I m making over $10k multi month working low maintenance. I continued hearing other individuals disclose to me how much cash they can make on the web so I chose to investigate it. All things considered, it was all valid and has completely transformed me. This is my main event ==HERE'S www.ezflyhigh.com© Like • Reply • 3m • Edited Derek Olczak This is some good news - we really need a federal policies that promote mandatory vaccinations across the country - It's scary to think that we're still divided about whether kids have a right to protection from potentially fatal and crippling diseases. Like • Reply • 3 • 12h Robbie Keith Why are people allowed exceptions at all? Children should be barred from attending school completely unless they're 100% up to date on immunisation. Also, you spelled "immunisation" incorrectly. Like • Reply • 2 • 2h Tiffany Kuhl We've moved around because of my husband's work, and so far Ottawa has been the most frustrating place to try and get the kids vaccinated! Some are done at school, some at the doctor's, some at a Public Health Clinic. Not easy to manouver through the system for sure! Like • Reply • 2 • 9h Tony Butler How about a special liable law which allows parents of immunised compromised children and infants who get ill from an infectious desease spread by un -immunised children to sue any and all parents of unimmunised children in a school, day care, community program or other public setting w/o having to prove which un -immunised individual was directly responsible? If parents have to pay cash for the injury or death of another child or infant they might think twice about embracing conspiracy theories as a health planning tool. Like • Reply • 2 • 15h Jerrica Benton am all for vaccinations, but wear your goddamned gloves. Standard precautions. Like • Reply • 8h https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/over-25000-students-cou ld-be-suspended-in-bl itz-for-better-vacci ne-coverage 8/9 12/10/2018 More than 25,000 students could be suspended in vaccine -coverage blitzl Ottawa Citizen VI A, ri 365 Door St 11',:.1'8,ast Toronto, 1:1131810 IV141tiv'31,81., vvrtivytr,pcistrnentrt1a,conti (?,',D 2018 1885)rrnrttx11a1",t5)vitprirr, 100, t81 rtghts rE8:ttE,808ect, 1.Thatirthor1zed in,11str1bittt1on,firanspirdssirt'in or repttblicrat1cAn strkrtly proh1181tect, I try 7n1r;d 7,808)188;88 r,c8i 1 /i;t. 0 ,nr808- 18H 00, rr, 30\t/E. ..vpooAll/'/JKI ,11/ 23/ /xr,,,,,rfr(mrvm https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/over-25000-students-could-be-suspended-in-blitz-for-better-vaccine-coverage 9/9