- 注册
- 2002-10-07
- 消息
- 402,220
- 荣誉分数
- 76
- 声望点数
- 0
Updating a child’s immunization records is a fairly simple process that usually involves just a few phone calls.
But convincing Ottawa parents to do so has turned into something of a military-style operation this summer, with 40 public health nurses, many pulled from other programs, working two shifts manning phones five days a week in an all-out effort to avoid suspending tens of thousands of students from school next year.
Ottawa Public Health officials say the immunizations records of 63,000 Ottawa students are out of date. If they aren’t updated, those students could face suspension during a school year that could already be disrupted by teacher strikes. Under Ontario law, students cannot attend school unless their records are up to date or they are exempted from immunization.
Ottawa Public Health’s immunization record blitz reflects a policy change from recent years when the public health department reduced or stopped annual surveillance of school immunization records in favour of more targeted immunization clinics. It has now introduced a program called Every Student, Every Year, which health officials say will ensure all student immunization records are updated every year, something required by the province.
Incomplete records do no mean students are not immunized. Public health officials believe Ottawa immunization rates are high, although it is impossible to know for sure without better records. But closing the immunization record gap in Ottawa is proving both costly and potentially disruptive.
Marie-Claude Turcotte, program manager for vaccine preventable disease at Ottawa Public Health, said many of the 40 public health nurses working on the immunization blitz this summer have been pulled from other programs that are slower during the summer and has not required closing programs.
But that could happen if provincial funding to support the effort does not come through. Ottawa Public Health has estimated the cost of getting all school immunization records up to date will be close to half a million dollars, money it has asked the provincial government to provide. Without that money, officials have warned, other programs may have to be cut.
Turcotte said it will be a while before public health officials know the results of the blitz. The automated phone calls of all 63,000 households will be complete before school begins. In early September, public health officials will also have records from new students and transfer students to go through to make sure they are up to date. By later in the fall, she said, officials should know how many students’ immunization records remain out of date.
Those parents will then receive a letter from Ottawa Public Health saying that their child’s immunization records are out of date and that if they are not updated within a number of weeks, that child will be suspended from school.
Despite the blitz, thousands of students could end up being suspended.
To update your child’s immunization records:
Call 613 580-6744 or go to ParentinginOttawa.ca/immunization
Parents who have their children’s yellow immunization record can simply relay the information to Ottawa Public Health. If not, they should phone their doctor’s office and get the updated information before contacting Ottawa Public Health.
Parents whose children have missed vaccines should contact their doctor or Ottawa Public Health.
查看原文...
But convincing Ottawa parents to do so has turned into something of a military-style operation this summer, with 40 public health nurses, many pulled from other programs, working two shifts manning phones five days a week in an all-out effort to avoid suspending tens of thousands of students from school next year.
Ottawa Public Health officials say the immunizations records of 63,000 Ottawa students are out of date. If they aren’t updated, those students could face suspension during a school year that could already be disrupted by teacher strikes. Under Ontario law, students cannot attend school unless their records are up to date or they are exempted from immunization.
Ottawa Public Health’s immunization record blitz reflects a policy change from recent years when the public health department reduced or stopped annual surveillance of school immunization records in favour of more targeted immunization clinics. It has now introduced a program called Every Student, Every Year, which health officials say will ensure all student immunization records are updated every year, something required by the province.
Incomplete records do no mean students are not immunized. Public health officials believe Ottawa immunization rates are high, although it is impossible to know for sure without better records. But closing the immunization record gap in Ottawa is proving both costly and potentially disruptive.
Marie-Claude Turcotte, program manager for vaccine preventable disease at Ottawa Public Health, said many of the 40 public health nurses working on the immunization blitz this summer have been pulled from other programs that are slower during the summer and has not required closing programs.
But that could happen if provincial funding to support the effort does not come through. Ottawa Public Health has estimated the cost of getting all school immunization records up to date will be close to half a million dollars, money it has asked the provincial government to provide. Without that money, officials have warned, other programs may have to be cut.
Turcotte said it will be a while before public health officials know the results of the blitz. The automated phone calls of all 63,000 households will be complete before school begins. In early September, public health officials will also have records from new students and transfer students to go through to make sure they are up to date. By later in the fall, she said, officials should know how many students’ immunization records remain out of date.
Those parents will then receive a letter from Ottawa Public Health saying that their child’s immunization records are out of date and that if they are not updated within a number of weeks, that child will be suspended from school.
Despite the blitz, thousands of students could end up being suspended.
To update your child’s immunization records:
Call 613 580-6744 or go to ParentinginOttawa.ca/immunization
Parents who have their children’s yellow immunization record can simply relay the information to Ottawa Public Health. If not, they should phone their doctor’s office and get the updated information before contacting Ottawa Public Health.
Parents whose children have missed vaccines should contact their doctor or Ottawa Public Health.
查看原文...
