The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit is in the process of reviewing the immunization records of approximately 2,300 3rd and 11th graders in its district. The practice was suspended during the pandemic as resources were directed to other areas. The health doctor Dr. Natalie Bocking said parents/guardians will be notified in mid-January of the immunizations their children require in order to comply with the Student Immunization Act. Provincial law requires children and teenagers attending elementary or secondary school to be properly vaccinated against specified diseases, unless they have a valid exemption. Suspension notices will be issued in mid-March if records remain incomplete with suspensions that went into effect in early April. Bocking said the health unit works with primary care providers to help students get caught and hosts clinics for those who don’t. “The aim is for all children to be protected and to do everything we can to prevent outbreaks in schools,” Bocking said, citing diseases such as polio, measles and whooping cough. Vaccination has greatly reduced, even eliminated, these diseases. Polio was eradicated in North America in 1994 and was officially eradicated in 36 Western Pacific countries, including China and Australia, in 2000. Illnesses like whooping cough tend to be cyclical – Ontario reported 1,044 cases in 2021 and 700 in 2015 – and there are “pockets” of communities across the province where children have not been immunized for cultural and religious reasons. The pandemic has also contributed to an increase in missed vaccinations. There are also concerns about global activity. Health Canada hasn’t recorded a polio case in more than 25 years, but U.S. officials have reported cases this year, and more than 30 countries have reported vaccine-related polio cases in 2020. As for whooping cough, which can lead to hospitalization, Bocking expressed particular concern for children, especially those under the age of one with still-developing immune systems. It’s particularly worrying, he adds, as the province faces a “triple threat” – COVID, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). He noted that an increase in respiratory illnesses – particularly the flu that arrived two months earlier than usual – is already overwhelming some pediatric ICUs. Some hospitals have responded to increased RSV cases by creating additional units while others are using adult ICU beds. Bocking said this is worrying as it has the potential to affect other hospitals. Waiting times at local hospitals have already risen dramatically with 40 per cent of those seeking treatment for a flu-like illness, as of August 28, being under the age of nine. The health unit is also dealing with 11 respiratory outbreaks, including an outbreak of influenza A in the south surgery unit at Lindsay’s Ross Memorial Hospital that was announced Nov. 9. With so much viral activity circulating in the area, the health unit strongly recommends that those at higher risk wear a mask when going out in public. He also noted that while provincial mask mandates are unlikely to be reinstated, the public may see recommendations to cover up as flu season progresses. For more information on current numbers of COVID, respiratory illnesses and outbreaks in the community, visit www.hkpr.on.ca.
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