Toronto Public Health (TPH) is pausing student suspension orders related to vaccine records for the rest of the school year. This decision aims to reduce administrative burdens on families and schools and provide students more time to complete outstanding immunization records.
Under Ontario's Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA), students must have routine vaccinations on file or submit an exemption to attend school. TPH noted that over 30,000 student records remain outstanding. The vaccine or exemption requirements themselves are still in effect.
TPH is offering community vaccination clinics that do not require OHIP cards and providing multilingual resources and support from public health nurses. The agency is currently assessing students in Grades 2 through 5 in Toronto public schools.