General News

Heath Unit operating ‘catch up’ clinics for immunizations

May 22, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is operating vaccination clinics to help children and youth ages four to 17 catch up and stay on track with publicly funded routine vaccines missed during the pandemic.

The Health Unit recommends getting immunized according to Ontario’s publicly funded immunization schedule. This includes vaccinations against tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, and meningococcal disease.

Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupils Act requires that students be vaccinated for those diseases or have a valid exemption.

“When children and youth’s immunizations are up to date, they have the best protection against certain vaccine preventable diseases,” said Dr. Colin Lee, Associate Medical Officer of Health at SMDHU. “There has been an increase of some of these diseases worldwide, including in Canada due to the interruption of immunization by the pandemic. Vaccines are a safe and effective way to prevent infections that have potentially serious health outcomes.”

Parents and caregivers whose children have not received all recommended vaccines for their age or are unsure which vaccines are needed should speak to their child’s healthcare provider or the health unit as soon as possible. They can help determine which vaccines children have already had, which ones they still need, and when and where to get them.

Families with school-age children who are eligible or overdue for their routine and publicly funded vaccines and who do not have a healthcare provider can book an immunization appointment for the clinic in Barrie or at one of the health unit offices in Collingwood, Cookstown, Gravenhurst, Huntsville, Midland and Orillia.

If a child or youth has already received immunization through their healthcare provider, parents and caregivers must update their immunization record on file with the health unit online.

For more information about routine and required vaccines given to students and the diseases they prevent, you can visit online at smdhu.org.

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