Immunization of School Pupils Act – School Suspensions

This means that according to Health Unit records, your child is missing a required vaccine that is part of Ontario’s Publicly Funded Immunization Schedule.

The reason you are receiving this letter is likely for one of four reasons:

1. Your child received this required vaccine, but the Health Unit has not been given a record of it.
2. Your child has not received the required vaccine.
3. Your child has received the vaccine but not at the right time (as per Ontario’s Publicly Funded Immunization Schedule). To get the best protection possible, the age that a vaccine is given is important, as is the timing between vaccines. For example, all children must have two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine given on or after their first birthday and with the two doses at least four weeks apart.
4. A valid medical exemption or conscious/religious exemption for immunization has not been submitted to the Health Unit.

The Health Unit requires proof of immunization against the diseases listed below.  To meet these requirements vaccines must be given according to Ontario’s Publicly Funded Immunization Schedule. As your child gets older, new immunizations are required. For example, students require a tetanus booster (TdaP-IPV) at 4 years of age and another one 10 years later (Tdap).

According to Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA), students must be fully immunized against the following diseases:

• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Polio
• Measles
• Mumps
• Rubella
• Meningitis (meningococcal disease)
• Varicella (chicken pox) (for children born in 2010 and after)

You can also visit our Vaccine Fact Sheets page to learn more about the required vaccines.

If your child has received the required vaccine and it was given at the right time according to the Ontario’s Publicly Funded Immunization Schedule, please report this information to the Health Unit. If you don’t know when the vaccine was given, check your child’s immunization record (yellow card) or call your family doctor for this record. Vaccines can be reported to the health unit by any of the following methods:

When reporting immunizations to the Brant County Health Unit, please include:

• Correct spelling of child’s name
• Date of birth
• Health Card number
•  Daytime phone number
• Date and name of vaccine given
• Name and phone number of family doctor (if applicable)

It is a parent or caregiver’s responsibility to provide the Health Unit with their child’s immunization information when attending daycare and/or school. Doctors are not required to do this for you.
Every time your child receives an immunization, make sure to report this to the Health Unit.

All required immunizations are free. You can receive missing vaccines from:

1. Your Family Doctor: Contact your family doctor’s office to book an appointment for immunization – it is often helpful to bring the received notice letter with you so the required vaccines can be reviewed. Once the vaccination is received, be sure to report it to the Health Unit. Note: For Students 12 years and older who require immunization against Meningococcal disease, family doctors must special order this vaccine from the health unit, please let them know ahead of time when booking this appointment. Students can also receive this vaccine at a Health Unit clinic or their high school clinic.
2. The Health Unit: The Health Unit will be holding clinics onsite at high schools (no appointment required) and will also be hosting a number of catch-up clinics at the Health Unit – see tabs below for further clinic details.

The Brant County Health Unit will be offering a clinic at each high school for students born in 2006 and 2007 who received a notification letter. Students do not need to book an appointment. As per the Health Care Consent Act, informed consent for vaccine administration will be obtained from the student. All clinics will take place in the morning, during school hours. Students are encouraged to listen carefully to the school announcements on the day of their school clinic to determine when and where to go for their immunizations. Students should eat breakfast, wear a short sleeve shirt, and read the related vaccine fact sheet(s) prior to getting their immunizations(s). Please call 519-753-4937 ext. 451 should you have any questions or speak to the nurse on clinic day.

High School Clinic Schedule

• Tuesday, January 9:  Pauline Johnson Collegiate VS
• Wednesday, January 10:  North Park Collegiate VS
• Thursday, January 11:  Tollgate Technological Skills Centre
• Friday, January 12:  Paris District High School
• Monday, January 15: Brantford Collegiate Institute
• Tuesday, January 16:  Assumption College School
• Wednesday, January 17:  St. John’s College
• Thursday, January 18: Grand Erie Learning Alternatives

Brant County Health Unit offers immunization services at the Health Unit for any elementary student facing a barrier to getting in with their family doctor and any high school student unable to attend their school-based clinic.To book an appointment call 519-753-4937 ext. 451. Immunization services are not available on a walk-in basis.

Please include these details in your message:

• • Student’s first and last name
  • Date of birth
  • Health card number
  • Daytime telephone number where you can be reached
  • Preferred clinic date and time (2023-2024 BCHU Clinic Schedule)

If your child cannot receive the required vaccine(s) for a medical reason (evidence of existing immunity, health condition, or serious allergy),  you must have your family doctor or nurse practitioner complete a Medical Exemption Form and provide this record to the Health Unit.

If you choose not to have your child immunized due to conscience or religious belief, please be advised:

• Your child may expose people with weaker immune systems to vaccine preventable diseases that can make them very sick (e.g. newborns, cancer patients, older adults).
• Your child is at risk of becoming very sick with vaccine preventable diseases.
• If there is a disease outbreak at your child’s school, the Medical Officer of Health may order your child not to attend school until the outbreak ends.

To register an exemption from vaccination for your child due to conscience or religious belief, you will be required to complete the following:

1. Complete an Immunization Education Session through the health unit which covers:

• Basic information about immunization
• Vaccine safety
• Immunization and community health
• Immunization law in Ontario

Once complete, you will be provided a Vaccine Education Certificate.

Call 519-753-4937 ext. 451 to book an appointment. These sessions are offered several times a year and can be completed virtually or in-person as needed.

2. Complete a Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief Affidavit and get it signed by a commissioner for taking affidavits in Ontario. The Vaccine Education Certificate must also be brought to the commissioner to demonstrate the completion of the required education session as outlined on the affidavit.

Persons authorized to sign affidavits for exemptions include:

• clerk, deputy clerk, or treasurer of local municipality (please note, there is NO FEE associated with this service)
• administrative head (building standards, welfare, assessment or planning)
• head of municipal council
• member of city council
• reeve or deputy reeve of town
• provincial judge or justice of the peace
• lawyer

3. Present the original copy of the signed Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief form and Vaccine Education Certificate to the Health Unit – we will take a photocopy of these records and provide you back with the original documents. Note: It is your responsibility to keep these documents for future reference as needed.

• Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA)
• Immunization for Children in Schools and Licensed Child Care Settings Protocol, 2018.
• Immunizations for School Attendance
• School Immunization Checklist
• Vaccines for children at school
• Ontario’s Publicly Funded Immunization Schedule.
• Medical Exemption Form