BC GOVT NEWS -- Mandatory reporting is part of the ongoing plan to increase immunization rates for all vaccine-preventable diseases
The Province is implementing this mandatory
reporting requirement through the Vaccination Status Reporting Regulation. Parents
and guardians will be expected to provide public health units with immunization
records for students enrolled in the provincial school system.
“In the wake of the global measles
outbreaks this spring, B.C. is implementing
several measures to protect children and families from this and other communicable diseases through improved immunization,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “Starting this school year, parents and guardians will be expected to provide the immunization status of their children to their local public health unit,”.
several measures to protect children and families from this and other communicable diseases through improved immunization,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “Starting this school year, parents and guardians will be expected to provide the immunization status of their children to their local public health unit,”.
“This mandatory reporting of the
immunization status of students will ensure the public health system is
prepared in the event of an outbreak. Furthermore, with the up-to-date records,
public health can reach out to families with children behind on their
immunizations and provide an opportunity to catch them up, as well as discuss
any concerns with parents.”
Most parents are already in compliance with
this requirement, so they will not need to do anything further when the new
school year starts. Parents or guardians with an incomplete or missing record
will be contacted by public health on how to provide their child’s immunization
information if it is needed, plus receive information on upcoming school-based
or community health clinics where their child can receive immunizations if they
require them.
Public health officials will review school
enrolment records in late August and into October 2019 to match them against
immunization records for kindergarten-to-Grade 12 students that currently exist
in the provincial immunization registry. For the first year of the reporting
requirement, the goal will be to help parents get their children up to date on
immunizations by the end of the school year.
Considerable work has already been done, and
more is underway to help prepare for mandatory immunization status reporting.
As part of the measles immunization catch-up
campaign, health authorities have been reviewing
thousands of records in relation to measles vaccinations. At the same time,
parents have been providing health units missing and updated records while
taking advantage of the measles immunization clinics.
Mandatory reporting of student’s immunization
status increases public health’s ability to respond during an outbreak, as it
allows health officials to quickly identify those who are under-and
who are not immunized.
It is also a prompt for parents to check and
ensure immunizations for their children are up to date and provides public health officials another opportunity to connect
with families about why immunization is important for the health and well-being
of their children, as well as the community. In addition to public health
clinics, parents are able to get their children immunized through their primary
care providers or community pharmacists.
Mandatory reporting is part of the ongoing
plan to increase immunization rates for all vaccine-preventable diseases. This
effort commenced with the measles immunization catch-up program in April 2019.
The most recent data indicates that increasing the opportunities for guardians
to get children immunized is improving immunization levels overall.
“This spring, we launched the catch-up
measles immunization program throughout schools and public health units, which
is having a positive effect,” said Dix.
“Since April, the number of
kindergarten-to-Grade 12 students having received two doses of measles vaccine
has increased by over 33,000. Based on the records reviewed so far by health
authorities – amounting to over 566,000 – nearly 95% of students have received
one or two doses of vaccine.”
BC has a comprehensive provincial childhood
immunization program, which includes coverage for a wide variety of diseases
including measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, pertussis, polio, HPV, varicella,
diphtheria, influenza, meningococcal disease and hepatitis.
Learn More:
- To check on immunization status, or to find a public health unit anywhere in the province, visit:https://immunizebc.ca/finder
- Learn more about measles and the vaccines online: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-feature/measles
- Visit BC Centre for Disease Control’s website for the latest measles updates in B.C.:http://www.bccdc.ca/about/news-stories/stories/measles-information-for-british-columbians
- To learn more about B.C.’s provincial childhood immunization program, visit:https://immunizebc.ca/what-vaccines-does-your-child-need-and-when
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