SIMCOE MUSKOKA – Are your children’s routine immunizations up to date? Have you updated their immunization records?

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) is reminding the families of elementary students in Grades 3 to 5 to update their child’s immunization record with the health unit to comply with the requirements of Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) and to protect their children and others from contracting vaccine preventable illnesses.

Together with local school boards and private schools, the health unit is mailing 10,000 letters to parents and guardians of children in Grades 3 to 5, asking them to ensure that their child’s immunizations are up to date and their immunization records are updated with the health unit.

In Ontario, parents and guardians are responsible for reporting their child's immunizations to public health to keep records up to date per ISPA standards as health care providers do not automatically report immunizations to their local public health unit.

If students received their routine and required immunization through their healthcare provider, they need to report this information to the health unit. This can easily be done online at smdhu.org or by calling the health unit’s Health Connection line.

Families who do not have a healthcare provider can book an immunization appointment at any of the health unit’s offices in Collingwood, Cookstown, Gravenhurst, Huntsville, Midland and Orillia, or at the at 80 Bradford St. clinic in Barrie.

For more information about routine and required vaccines for students and the diseases they prevent, please visit smdhu.org. To speak with a public health professional, call Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

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