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Middlesex-London Health Unit

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Immunization Record Review and School Suspension Notices

Each school year, the Middlesex-London Health Unit reviews immunization records of elementary and secondary school students to make sure their immunization records meet the requirements under Ontario law. The review includes all students who go to schools in London and Middlesex Country, including private schools. Maintaining up-to-date immunization records provides important information should a disease outbreak happen in a school.

 

Contact Us

For more information, please contact the Middlesex-London Health Unit at 519-663-5317.

 

Immunization of School Pupuls Act?

The Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) R.S.O. 1990 is a law in Ontario that requires elementary and secondary school students to be immunized against the following diseases:

  • Diphtheria
  • Pertussis
  • Tetanus
  • Polio
  • Measles
  • Mumps
  • Rubella
  • Meningococcal
  • And for children born in 2010 or later, immunization against varicella (chickenpox) is also required

If the Health Unit does not have a record that a student is immunized according to their age against the above diseases, it may result in the student being suspended from school.

Immunization Record Review

The Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) R.S.O. 1990 law lets Public Health Units in Ontario to keep a copy of student immunization records.
Public health nurses review all immunization records and send notices to those families with students who are missing record of required immunizations.

Common reasons for receiving a letter include:

  • Families submit records when the student starts school but do not provide updates when the student gets more immunizations.
  • Families submit the student’s 4–6-year booster vaccines when they start school, but do not include the immunizations the student received when they were a baby and toddler.
  • Students in Grade 8-12 may have missed their Grade 7 immunizations. This includes the required meningococcal ACYW-135 vaccine.
  • Older students may have missed their 10-year booster dose of Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis). This booster dose is often due between 14-16 years old, with the exact age being 10 years from the age the student received their 4–6-year booster dose of Tdap-IPV (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, and polio)
  • Children who were immunized in another country may not have received all the immunizations that are required for students their age to attend school in Ontario.

Types of Notices
The Health Unit provides two notices to families with students who are at risk for suspension from school due to missing immunizations.

  • First Notice – This notice lets families how which immunizations the student is missing. The first notice includes a due date and families should submit a record update to the Health Unit by this date to avoid suspension from school.
  • Order of Suspension Notice – Students who are still missing immunizations after the due date on the first notice has passed will receive an order of suspension. The order of suspension includes the date that suspension from school will begin if record of the missing vaccines has not been submitted to the Health Unit.

What to do if your student receives a notice?

Families who receive a notice should check their student’s record at home and with their healthcare provider:

  • If the student has already gotten the immunizations that the Health Unit is missing records of, the family should submit a record update to the Health Unit.
  • If the student has not had the missing immunizations, they need to receive the vaccines and then submit a record update to the Health Unit.

 

Where can students receive missing immunizations?

Your Primary Care Provider’s Office
  • Students can schedule an appointment with their family doctor or nurse practitioner if they have one.
  • When you call to schedule an appointment, let them know which immunizations the notice says the student is missing. Bring the notice to the appointment.
  • If the appointment date is after the date on the order of suspension notice, call the Health Unit at 519-663-5317 to discuss.
Walk-in Clinics
  • Students with an Ontario Health Card can receive immunizations at a walk-in clinic. Call ahead to make sure they have the vaccines the student is missing and bring the notice when you go.
Health Unit Immunization Clinic

 

How to submit immunization records to the Health Unit?

Families must report their student’s immunizations to the Middlesex-London Health Unit. Healthcare providers do not report immunizations.

  • When a student gets vaccines with their doctor, nurse practitioner or at a walk-in clinic, the family should request a record and then submit that record to the Health Unit.
  • Immunization records of vaccines that a student receives out of country also need to be submitted to the Health Unit.

For options and instructions on submitting records or to submit records online, visit Immunization Records.

Exemptions

Students may be exempt from receiving the immunizations needed to go to elementary and secondary school. Reasons for exemption include medical and personal beliefs. For more information on exemptions, visit Vaccine Exemptions.

Resources

 
Date of creation: June 21, 2016
Last modified on: August 13, 2025

References

1Immunization of School Pupils Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. I.1. Retrieved from
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90i01