Health unit issues warning: Failure to update vaccinations may result in student suspension.

Public health authorities are intensifying efforts to confirm the full vaccination of students in Thunder Bay and its surrounding rural areas against preventable diseases such as tetanus, polio, and measles.

In cases where vaccination records are not current, students may be subject to temporary school suspensions until they receive the necessary shots, as stated in a Friday news release from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.

“Prior to any suspensions,” the health unit said, parents are to be notified by mail if their children aren’t up-to-date and will be provided with options on how to have them vaccinated.

The procedure is governed by Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupils Act, “includes the review and assessment of all student immunization records, notification to parents-guardians when missing vaccines or missing information and vaccination clinics to support routine and catch up immunizations.”

In the upcoming two months, officials from the health unit plan to visit every high school in the city and surrounding towns to provide routine and catch-up vaccines to students.

Moreover, routine school-based vaccination clinics are available twice a year for grades 7 and 8 students across the entire coverage area of the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, as announced by the health unit.

Exemptions are possible for medical or religious reasons, but parents must submit a formal application and schedule an appointment with a public health nurse to finalize the process, according to the health unit’s guidelines.