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The state of immunization records for Ottawa students is worse than public health officials expected when they began a recent blitz to update them.
Ottawa Public Health — which stopped annual surveillance of school vaccination records in 2013 despite a provincial requirement for the agency to do so — vowed to update the records of every child in the city this year and keep them up to date.
But that job has proven tougher than expected. And the agency’s efforts to update vaccination records could result in thousands of suspension notices being sent to students next school year.
Sherry Nigro, manager of health promotion and disease detection at Ottawa Public Health, said health officials had expected 30 to 40 per cent of student records would need updating. That number is closer to 50 per cent, she said.
That means public health officials do not have accurate information about whether nearly half of the children in the city are properly immunized. They have begun to try to update that data and have it entered into a new computer system designed to make immunization record keeping easier.
Health officials say the system is far from perfect — they have sent the province recommendations to improve it — but once the information is there, it will be easier to keep information up to date every year.
Meanwhile, though, students whose records are not up to date and who fail to update them can expect suspension notices during the 2015-2016 school year.
Last time Ottawa Public Health conducted immunization surveillance, on 17 year olds in 2013, nearly 1,000 students faced suspension. This time, rather than just for students in a single grade, all 150,000 student records are being updated.
Even if the majority are updated through the planned spring and summer phone blitz, that could leave upwards of 10 per cent, or 15,000 students, facing possible suspension next year.
Nigro says the phone blitz is “going well” and she hopes mass suspensions won’t be necessary.
Ottawa Public Health officials say they believe immunization rates are high in Ottawa — citing as evidence the fact that during a year in which there were measles outbreaks across North America, Ottawa did not see any cases. But children’s immunization records don’t support that. Health officials say they believe many if not most of the students with out-of-date records have been vaccinated, and just need to update their records.
The agency outlined its immunization strategy in a report which will go to the city’s board of health on June 15. The report describes Ottawa Public Health’s plan to keep on top of children’s vaccination records. Its “Every Child, Every Year” strategy will “improve surveillance of immunization status” by reviewing the immunization records of all children attending school and licensed daycare centres.
In recent years, Ottawa Public Health has stopped school surveillance or undertaken only partial surveillance in schools, taking what it calls a risk management approach instead. It has not completed regular surveillance in licensed daycares, which it is also required by the province.
Health officials are hoping the blitz and immunization campaign — for which it wants $500,000 from the province — will ensure Ottawa Public Health has accurate immunization records for all children. It also plans to promote vaccines for adults and address vaccine hesitancy.
Ottawa Public Health has assigned additional staff to phone parents across the city to make sure their children’s immunization records are up-to-date. It is also looking at an automated phone system.
Nigro said the phone calls are proving to be more effective than simply mailing letters to get parents to find their children’s immunization records and make sure public health officials have them.
“I am pleased that parents are following up,” said Nigro. “We are getting a good response.”
Although students and children in daycares are required to show proof of immunization — or an exemption form — before entering school, the system for keeping those records up to date with public health is poorly understood by parents and often haphazard. In most cases, parents are required to phone public health themselves when their children receive a vaccination or a booster at a doctor’s office.
Provincial and local health officials say a computer system that links directly to doctors’ offices would change that. The current system does not have that capacity, but Ottawa Public Health has asked the province to move toward a system that would allow a direct link between doctors offices and public health.
epayne@ottawacitizen.com
查看原文...
Ottawa Public Health — which stopped annual surveillance of school vaccination records in 2013 despite a provincial requirement for the agency to do so — vowed to update the records of every child in the city this year and keep them up to date.
But that job has proven tougher than expected. And the agency’s efforts to update vaccination records could result in thousands of suspension notices being sent to students next school year.
Sherry Nigro, manager of health promotion and disease detection at Ottawa Public Health, said health officials had expected 30 to 40 per cent of student records would need updating. That number is closer to 50 per cent, she said.
That means public health officials do not have accurate information about whether nearly half of the children in the city are properly immunized. They have begun to try to update that data and have it entered into a new computer system designed to make immunization record keeping easier.
Health officials say the system is far from perfect — they have sent the province recommendations to improve it — but once the information is there, it will be easier to keep information up to date every year.
Meanwhile, though, students whose records are not up to date and who fail to update them can expect suspension notices during the 2015-2016 school year.
Last time Ottawa Public Health conducted immunization surveillance, on 17 year olds in 2013, nearly 1,000 students faced suspension. This time, rather than just for students in a single grade, all 150,000 student records are being updated.
Even if the majority are updated through the planned spring and summer phone blitz, that could leave upwards of 10 per cent, or 15,000 students, facing possible suspension next year.
Nigro says the phone blitz is “going well” and she hopes mass suspensions won’t be necessary.
Ottawa Public Health officials say they believe immunization rates are high in Ottawa — citing as evidence the fact that during a year in which there were measles outbreaks across North America, Ottawa did not see any cases. But children’s immunization records don’t support that. Health officials say they believe many if not most of the students with out-of-date records have been vaccinated, and just need to update their records.
The agency outlined its immunization strategy in a report which will go to the city’s board of health on June 15. The report describes Ottawa Public Health’s plan to keep on top of children’s vaccination records. Its “Every Child, Every Year” strategy will “improve surveillance of immunization status” by reviewing the immunization records of all children attending school and licensed daycare centres.
In recent years, Ottawa Public Health has stopped school surveillance or undertaken only partial surveillance in schools, taking what it calls a risk management approach instead. It has not completed regular surveillance in licensed daycares, which it is also required by the province.
Health officials are hoping the blitz and immunization campaign — for which it wants $500,000 from the province — will ensure Ottawa Public Health has accurate immunization records for all children. It also plans to promote vaccines for adults and address vaccine hesitancy.
Ottawa Public Health has assigned additional staff to phone parents across the city to make sure their children’s immunization records are up-to-date. It is also looking at an automated phone system.
Nigro said the phone calls are proving to be more effective than simply mailing letters to get parents to find their children’s immunization records and make sure public health officials have them.
“I am pleased that parents are following up,” said Nigro. “We are getting a good response.”
Although students and children in daycares are required to show proof of immunization — or an exemption form — before entering school, the system for keeping those records up to date with public health is poorly understood by parents and often haphazard. In most cases, parents are required to phone public health themselves when their children receive a vaccination or a booster at a doctor’s office.
Provincial and local health officials say a computer system that links directly to doctors’ offices would change that. The current system does not have that capacity, but Ottawa Public Health has asked the province to move toward a system that would allow a direct link between doctors offices and public health.
epayne@ottawacitizen.com
查看原文...
