Halton Region Public Health: Office of the Medical Officer of Health
Quick facts
- Halton Region Public Health is enforcing the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) and students born in 2008 – 2013 and 2016 - 2018 may be suspended from school starting in March 2026 if their immunization records with Public Health are incomplete.
- Public Health notified parents/students of outstanding vaccine requirements in October 2025.
- A second letter will be mailed to those who remain non-compliant in January 2026, which may result in increased requests for immunization at your office.
- Families can submit immunization records online during Halton Region’s administrative office closure from December 24, 2025 - January 1, 2026. Public Health released a video outlining how parents can submit immunization records online: Guide to submitting immunization records (YouTube video link).
- Reminder: Any oral polio vaccine (OPV) administered on or after April 1, 2016, is considered invalid and an age-appropriate series of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) or IPV-containing vaccine should be completed.
Key information for healthcare providers
- Your office may experience an increase in immunization-related requests as parents respond to letters from Public Health related to ISPA enforcement.
- Patients with incomplete immunizations, or lacking adequate documentation of immunization, should be considered unimmunized and started on an immunization schedule appropriate for their age and risk factors. Refer to Catch-up Schedule 2: Children Starting Immunization Between 7-17 Years in Publicly Funded Immunization Schedules for Ontario – June 2022 (external PDF).
- Students with a history of disease (clinical diagnosis or immunity by serology) require a completed Statement of Medical Exemption form. Please do not submit serology results alone.
- If you have questions about a student’s record, refer to our ISPA Resource Guide for Healthcare Professionals or call 311 and ask to speak to an Immunization Nurse.
- When patients receive vaccinations through your office, provide them with a copy of their vaccination record and instruct them to report it to Public Health via halton.ca/immunize or by calling 311. Refer those with questions on how to report to our online video: Guide to submitting immunization records (YouTube video link).
- In April 2024, the Ontario Ministry of Health released updated guidance for children previously immunized with oral polio vaccine (OPV) (external PDF). According to the World Health Organization, as of April 2016, trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV) was replaced with the bivalent OPV (bOPV), which contains poliovirus serotypes 1 and 3, but not serotype 2.
- To ensure protection against all three poliovirus types, any doses ofOPV received on or after April 1, 2016 are considered invalid and should be repeated with an age-appropriate series of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) or an IPV-containing vaccine using an age-appropriate schedule.
- IPV vaccine is currently out of stock. The Ministry will advise when additional stock is available to order in the new year.
Additional resources
- Publicly Funded Immunization Schedules for Ontario June 2022 (external PDF)
- Vaccine Information for Physicians, Halton Region Public Health
- Ordering School-Based Vaccines, Halton Region Public Health
- Q & A for Immunizers: Recommendations for Children Previously Immunized with Oral Poliovirus Vaccine, Ministry of Health (external link)
- Summary of Immunization Recommendations for Children Previously Immunized with Oral Poliovirus Vaccine, Public Health Ontario (external PDF)