Northern Ontario’s health authority is reminding parents to keep their children’s immunization records up to date.
Algoma Public Health and Sudbury Public Health said they have sent thousands of letters to that effect.
“We are now working to overcome this issue. Act on vaccination of children and students We have also sent 4,000 letters to families asking them to submit their records to Algoma Public Health,” said Christy Harper, director of health protection for Algoma Public Health.
Brenda Stankiewicz, a public health nurse with the Sudbury Public Health and District Health Department, said a lack of access to primary care could be one reason for the lag in vaccine records.
“People weren’t able to see their health care providers,” Stankiewicz said, adding that some parents may have simply forgotten to submit their children’s records.
To avoid school closures, students must have up-to-date vaccinations, with some exceptions.
“Some of us may not know the stories and experiences of what it was like before the vaccine rollout,” Harper said.
“Certainly, vaccines speak for themselves as safe and effective, and have been for decades.”
“Unless you’ve had the disease, it’s hard to really imagine how serious this disease is,” Stankiewicz said.
There are cases where measles While cases have occurred in other parts of the province, public health officials in northern Ontario said there is little cause for concern here.
Algoma Public Health reports a measles vaccination rate of over 98%, while Sudbury Public Health has a vaccination rate of over 95%.
