Immunization of School Pupils Act enforcement starting in October, and School-Based vaccine administration
Immunization of School Pupils Act enforcement starting in October, and School-Based vaccine administration
Article
Quick facts
This year, Halton Region Public Health is enforcing the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) for students born in 2008-2014 and 2016-2019 (grades 2-5 and 7-12). Students in these cohorts may be suspended from school in early 2027 if their immunization records remain incomplete.
Public Health will start mailing out letters to impacted families in early October.
Public Health nurses will visit each school once per year to administer school-based immunization (Men-C-ACYW-135, Hepatitis B, and HPV-9 vaccines). First doses of these vaccines will be offered to Grade 7 students and second doses or missed doses of school-based vaccines to Grade 8 students.
School-based vaccines for students in grades 7–12 (MenC-ACYW-135, Hepatitis B and HPV-9 vaccines) must be ordered using the online vaccine order form available on the Information for Physicians page of the Halton website.
Key messages for healthcare providers
Your clinic may get increased immunization-related calls as parents respond to letters from Public Health related to ISPA enforcement.
Patients with incomplete immunization 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 the Publicly Funded Immunization Schedules for Ontario – June 2022 (external PDF).
Some students may be eligible for medical exemptions based on serologic immunity, clinical diagnosis of disease or a true vaccine contraindication. The Statement of Medical Exemption form must be filled out by a medical doctor or nurse practitioner.
Medical Exemptions should only be completed if it is the clinician’s medical opinion that the risk of vaccine is outweighed by the benefit. Families without a medical contrainidication, who do not wish to be immunized, should be directed to complete a non-medical exemption.
Remind families to report their records to public health, especially at the time of immunization, by going to halton.ca/immunize.
Students may seek doses of school-based immunizations through their healthcare professional if they missed receiving them at the school clinic, or if they wish to receive second doses prior to the next school year.
Healthcare professionals should report doses of school-based vaccines that they have administered to Public Health by completing and faxing the School-Based Vaccine Administration Reporting form (PDF file) to 905-465-3403 with their next school-based vaccine order. This information helps Public Health staff know about any previous doses of school-based vaccines that have been administered if the student presents at an in-school immunization clinic.
Men-C-ACYW-135, Hepatitis B and HPV-9 vaccines that will be administered as part of the high-risk vaccine program, must continue to be ordered through the online vaccine ordering form as a high-risk vaccine order.
Key messages for patients
Parents or guardians are responsible for reporting all of their child’s immunizations to Public Health, including any school-based vaccines that were not given by Public Health, by visiting halton.ca/immunize.
Students may have already received the required vaccines during childhood, and the records only need to be reported to Public Health (the student may not need any additional immunizations).
Families seeking a vaccine exemption due to personal choice must complete the steps to acquire a Vaccine Education Certificate and a Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief form. Visit halton.ca/immunize for more information.
Public Health visits each school once per year to provide school-based vaccines to students in Grades 7 and 8. Students may receive second doses of Hep B and HPV vaccines through a healthcare professional, at a Public Health community clinic, or at a school clinic the following year when they are in Grade 8. Visit halton.ca/immunize to check for community clinic availability.
Immunization is the best way to protect your child, family, and community from life-threatening diseases.
