Ottawa Public Health encourages families to help prevent the spread of illness and get up to date on vaccines as children go back to school

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As children head back to the classroom, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is reminding families to take precautions to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases. With the fall season approaching, we typically see an increase in respiratory illness. Knowing that your child’s health and safety is your top priority, OPH is sharing some important information to help keep your family healthy this fall and winter, and throughout the school year.

Respiratory illness season

As we head into the respiratory illness season, we can expect viruses like COVID-19, influenza (flu), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to circulate in our community. OPH is reminding parents and guardians about simple and effective ways to protect yourself, your family, and others:

• Stay home when sick until you are fever-free (without using fever-reducing medication AND your symptoms have been improving for 24 hours or 48 hours for vomiting/diarrhea).
• Wash your hands (or use hand sanitizer) often and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
• Disinfect high-touch surfaces in your home and workplace.
• Keep your vaccinations up to date, including getting your annual flu vaccine and your updated COVID-19 vaccine. OPH will be releasing updated information about the availability of these vaccines in the coming weeks.
• Avoid visiting people at high-risk of severe illness when you are sick (including people living in long-term care, retirement homes or in hospital).
• Wear a mask:
  • To protect yourself from viral respiratory illnesses.
  • To protect others at higher risk of severe respiratory illness.
  • When you’re recovering from illness.
• Use local monitoring indicators, updated weekly on our dashboard at OttawaPublicHealth.ca/VirusReport to help you assess your level of risk.

Add routine vaccinations to your back-to-school checklist

Ottawa Public Health is reminding families that in Ontario, all children going to school need to be vaccinated against certain diseases or have a valid exemption. Some vaccine preventable diseases like pertussis (whooping cough) have been circulating in our community and can be very serious in some people. The start of the school year is a great time to ensure your child’s routine vaccines are up to date. OPH will review student immunization records this fall and will send letters to parents and guardians of children who haven’t updated their vaccination records, as required by the Immunization of Schools Pupils Act (ISPA) to attend school.

Families facing barriers to accessing routine vaccinations can book an appointment at one of the many Kids Come First clinics. Additionally, OPH offers drop-in clinics at the Neighbourhood Health and Wellness Hubs. Parents and caregivers can visit ParentingInOttawa.ca/Immunization for more information on routine vaccines, where to get routine vaccines, and how to report routine vaccines to OPH.

Visit OttawaPublicHealth.ca/RespVirus to find the latest information on respiratory illness, COVID-19 and flu vaccines, preventing respiratory illness, and what to do if you need care. You can also connect with OPH on Facebook, X and Instagram.

For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca, call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) or 613-580-2400 to contact the City using Canada Video Relay Service. You can also connect with us through Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.

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