Toronto (Jan 17) – Toronto Public Health (TPH) is opening new community vaccination clinics on Friday, January 19, to help school-aged children catch up on their routine vaccinations.
Under Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) students are required to be vaccinated against nine vaccine-preventable diseases including Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio, Meningococcal, Pertussis (whooping cough) and Varicella (chickenpox) – only applies to students born on or after 2010. The unvaccinated must have a valid exemption to avoid suspension from school.
Operating on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m., these vaccination clinics are available throughout the school year at the Etobicoke Civic Centre (399 The West Mall), Scarborough Civic Centre (150 Borough Dr) and North York Civic Centre (5100 Yonge St). Appointments must be booked on the City’s TPH Appointment Booking System webpag.
In the coming weeks, clinic offerings will expand to include weekends and Professional Activity (PA) days for the purpose of accessibility and convenience, TPH said in a news release.
TPH will also bring vaccines directly into high schools with low vaccination rates later in January. When clinics are confirmed, more information will be available on the City of Toronto’s School Immunization Program webpage.
To encourage an increase in vaccination, TPH has resumed issuing non-compliance suspension orders under the ISPA for the 2023-24 school year. Parents and guardians will receive advance notice of pending vaccination requirements before suspension orders are issued by TPH.
Parents and guardians will then have 15 school days from receiving the suspension order to either obtain the necessary vaccines or submit a valid exemption. If the student remains non-compliant with vaccination requirements after 15 days, suspension will be implemented.
Parents and guardians can visit one of TPH’s community clinics or their healthcare provider to receive routine immunizations and ensure ISPA compliance. Once students have received their vaccines, parents and guardians are asked to enter the record into the Immunization Connect Ontario (ICON), a secure online provincial system that tracks and reports a student’s immunizations to TPH. ICON can then generate an electronic vaccination card so parents and guardians have the student’s complete vaccination record.
Starting on Thursday, January 25, clinics will also offer Novavax and pediatric COVID-19 vaccines to children five years of age and under. TPH is accepting appointments on the TPH booking website as of January 23.
