School Immunizations

Immunizations are the best way to protect children from serious diseases and ensure that they stay healthy.      

• Under the Immunization School Pupils Act (ISPA), all students enrolled in schools in Ontario must be fully immunized against nine designated diseases, namely:
  • diphtheria  
  • tetanus  
  • polio  
  • measles  
  • mumps  
  • rubella  
  • meningococcal disease  
  • pertussis (whooping cough)  
  • varicella (chickenpox) for those born in 2010 or later

Parents are responsible for providing the PHU with proof of their children's completed immunizations, unless a valid medical or philosophical/religious exemption is submitted.      

The Porcupine Health Unit uses Panorama, which is a provincial electronic database used for vaccine record and inventory management.          

Every January, the PHU immunization team conducts a thorough review of immunization records for all enrolled students within the PHU region. Using Panorama a report is generated for students with incomplete or outdated immunization records and letters are sent out to parents requesting missing information or reminding parents to update mandatory immunization as required.        

Failure to provide this information to the health unit may lead to a student being suspended from school.   

Notification Letters:  

If you’ve received one of these letters from us, it means that your child may be missing vaccines. To update your child’s records, we kindly ask for your help with the following: 

Provide a copy of your child’s immunization record:

• Please send a copy of your child’s immunization record to the PHU. This will help us to review the document and see if your child needs any more vaccinations.  

Get any missing immunizations:

• If your child is missing any vaccinations, we recommend making an appointment with your health care provider or contacting the PHU. We can help you schedule the necessary immunizations.  

Report immunizations to the PHU:

• It’s important to report all immunizations to the PHU. You can do this in a few ways:
  • Provide the information to the school.
  • Mail the information to the PHU.
  • Visit one of our PHU offices in person.
  • Report the information online through ICON 

Exemption Information

• If you want to know more about exemptions, we encourage you to visit our website page Exemptions for Immunizations.

School-Based Immunization Clinics  

The Porcupine Health Unit offers school-based immunization clinics for Grade 7 to 12 students.  

Due to the Pandemic, students may have missed their routine immunizations including vaccines normally offered in Grade 7. We are in the process of reaching out to parents to catch up on these vaccines. Students who are in Grades 8-12 continue to be eligible to receive the Hepatitis B vaccine, the Human Papillomavirus vaccine and the Meningococcal vaccine.   

Grade 7 Program

Every fall, a nurse from the Porcupine Health Unit will go into schools to offer Grade 7 immunizations. As part of our school program, all Grade 7 students, are offered immunizations against Hepatitis B, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Meningococcal disease at no cost.

Hepatitis B and HPV are optional vaccines and not mandatory for school attendance; however, the vaccine that protects against meningococcal disease is mandatory for school attendance (as per ISPA).

During the month of September, grade 7 students will be provided with a package to bring home, from the Health Unit containing information about the Grade 7 School Immunization Program and the consent forms. Once parents/guardians have reviewed the information and signed the consent forms, the forms can be returned to your child’s school.  

Catch Up Program

If your child is in Grade 8-12, and they missed or did not complete their complete vaccine series, they remain eligible to receive these vaccines and are not required to restart their series.

Contact your local health unit office or your primary care provider if you think your child may have missed their immunizations.  

About the Vaccines

Follow this link to get the most up-to-date fact sheets on these school vaccines or speak to a nurse in your local public health unit office. 

About Consent

Informed Consent 

Informed consent is a process that ensures individuals are fully aware of the potential benefits and risks associated with any medical treatment, including vaccinations.  This process involves detailed discussions between the health care provider (such as the public health nurse) and the patient (in some cases, youth), about the treatment, the benefits and potential side effects.  

The goal is to empower individuals to make an informed decision about receiving vaccines.  

The Right to Consent  

Age of Consent: In Ontario, there is no legal age for consent to medical treatments.  This means, that youth can consent to receiving a vaccine if they can understand the information that is being provided and can make an informed decision.  

Independence: Capable youth are not required to have a parent or guardian consent on their behalf, and do not need to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to receive vaccine.  

The Role of Healthcare Providers 

Healthcare providers have the professional and legal responsibility to assess the capacity of each individual and to obtain informed consent before administering any vaccine.  

Differences in Opinions

At times, a youth’s decision to receive a vaccine may be different than the wishes of their parent/guardian and the following process will be followed:  

Assessment of Capacity: The health care provider will evaluate whether the youth is capable of providing informed consent.  This involves determining if the youth can understand the information about the vaccine, including the benefits, potential side effects, and the implications of not receiving the vaccine. 

Respecting the Youth’s Decision: If it is determined that the youth is capable of making an informed decision, the health care provider will respect and follow the decision made by the youth. 

Grades 9 to 12 Program

Every February, the PHU immunization team hosts clinics at the local high schools to catch up students who are due/overdue for their tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap)vaccine.  Tdap or Td is a vaccine that requires a booster every 10 years and your child would have received this vaccine between the ages of 4-6, thus requiring a booster dose in high school and every 10 years after.

Letters with consents are sent home to parents before the clinic. Failure to receive vaccines under the ISPA can lead to your child being suspended from school.  

Contact your local health unit office if you have any questions about Grade 7-12 vaccines.