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Ontario’s Ministry of Health is looking into whether Ottawa Public Health broke the law when it stopped monitoring school vaccination records.
At a time of heightened concern about vaccination rates, Ottawa Public Health officials acknowledge they did not conduct surveillance of student vaccine records during the 2013-14 school year and will not during this school year, leaving a gap in vaccination records.
Under Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupil’s Act, health units are required to “assess, maintain records and report on immunization status of children attending schools,” according to David Jensen, spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.
Ottawa Public Health is required to comply and to report to the province if they are not complying.
“To date, Ottawa Public Health has not submitted such a report,” he told the Citizen, adding: “The ministry has not been informed of a compliance variance and will be following up with Ottawa Public Health.”
Measles outbreaks have been on the rise in recent years. This year’s outbreak in Ontario and across North America has prompted both Ontario Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins and federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose to make pleas for parents to vaccinate their children.
Ottawa Public Health, meanwhile, says it has had to stop monitoring student vaccine records, resulting in a less accurate picture of vaccination rates among schoolchildren.
Marie-Claude Turcotte, manager of vaccine-preventable diseases at Ottawa Public Health, said the department, which has been forced to cut some programs and is struggling to meet demands, doesn’t have the capacity to carry out the time-consuming surveillance. One of the issues, she said, is that public health staff are needed to get information into a new provincewide electronic vaccine system, which should improve record keeping.
Dr. Kumanan Wilson, Canada Research Chair in Public Health Policy at the University of Ottawa and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, said it is important to monitor vaccination rates to identify overall coverage and whether there are specific areas where rates are below what is needed to create herd immunity.
“If rates are sub-optimal, it could identify an area at risk for an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease. It also identifies areas where public health could focus their efforts for improving vaccination coverage.”
Accurate information is crucial when it comes to measles, he said, “which is highly infectious and requires coverage rates as high as 95 per cent to prevent outbreaks.”
Ottawa Public Health has also stopped monitoring and checking immunization records at licensed daycares in the city, something it is also required to do under provincial law.
Kanata North Coun. Marianne Wilkinson, who has spoken out about the importance of vaccinations, said Ottawa Public Health, which gets most of its funding from the province, has a tight budget, but she said tracking vaccination rates is important.
“If we have a better idea of vaccination rates, we would have a better idea what the risk is.”
It likely isn’t a big problem in the short term, she said, but it will be in the longer term. “We have to look at how we can start the process of getting it done.”
Students are required to show proof of immunization — or request an exemption — when they enter school. But records of vaccines and boosters received once they begin school are often spotty because many parents don’t realize they have to contact public health with the information.
In past years, public health officials have assessed students by grade to make sure their vaccine records were up to date. Students whose records were not received warning letters. Those who failed to bring in proof of vaccination or get vaccinated were suspended from school until they did.
Ottawa Public Health officials say they continue to work to improve immunization rates with catch-up immunization clinics at schools with lower coverage.
epayne@ottawacitizen.com
查看原文...
At a time of heightened concern about vaccination rates, Ottawa Public Health officials acknowledge they did not conduct surveillance of student vaccine records during the 2013-14 school year and will not during this school year, leaving a gap in vaccination records.
Under Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupil’s Act, health units are required to “assess, maintain records and report on immunization status of children attending schools,” according to David Jensen, spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.
Ottawa Public Health is required to comply and to report to the province if they are not complying.
“To date, Ottawa Public Health has not submitted such a report,” he told the Citizen, adding: “The ministry has not been informed of a compliance variance and will be following up with Ottawa Public Health.”
Measles outbreaks have been on the rise in recent years. This year’s outbreak in Ontario and across North America has prompted both Ontario Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins and federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose to make pleas for parents to vaccinate their children.
Ottawa Public Health, meanwhile, says it has had to stop monitoring student vaccine records, resulting in a less accurate picture of vaccination rates among schoolchildren.
Marie-Claude Turcotte, manager of vaccine-preventable diseases at Ottawa Public Health, said the department, which has been forced to cut some programs and is struggling to meet demands, doesn’t have the capacity to carry out the time-consuming surveillance. One of the issues, she said, is that public health staff are needed to get information into a new provincewide electronic vaccine system, which should improve record keeping.
Dr. Kumanan Wilson, Canada Research Chair in Public Health Policy at the University of Ottawa and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, said it is important to monitor vaccination rates to identify overall coverage and whether there are specific areas where rates are below what is needed to create herd immunity.
“If rates are sub-optimal, it could identify an area at risk for an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease. It also identifies areas where public health could focus their efforts for improving vaccination coverage.”
Accurate information is crucial when it comes to measles, he said, “which is highly infectious and requires coverage rates as high as 95 per cent to prevent outbreaks.”
Ottawa Public Health has also stopped monitoring and checking immunization records at licensed daycares in the city, something it is also required to do under provincial law.
Kanata North Coun. Marianne Wilkinson, who has spoken out about the importance of vaccinations, said Ottawa Public Health, which gets most of its funding from the province, has a tight budget, but she said tracking vaccination rates is important.
“If we have a better idea of vaccination rates, we would have a better idea what the risk is.”
It likely isn’t a big problem in the short term, she said, but it will be in the longer term. “We have to look at how we can start the process of getting it done.”
Students are required to show proof of immunization — or request an exemption — when they enter school. But records of vaccines and boosters received once they begin school are often spotty because many parents don’t realize they have to contact public health with the information.
In past years, public health officials have assessed students by grade to make sure their vaccine records were up to date. Students whose records were not received warning letters. Those who failed to bring in proof of vaccination or get vaccinated were suspended from school until they did.
Ottawa Public Health officials say they continue to work to improve immunization rates with catch-up immunization clinics at schools with lower coverage.
epayne@ottawacitizen.com
查看原文...
