920 secondary students in Waterloo Region suspended over outdated vaccination records

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Over 900 secondary students suspended in Waterloo Region for out-of-date vaccine records

Outdated vaccination records result in high school suspensions

The public health unit for the Region of Waterloo says 920 secondary school students were suspended Thursday morning because their vaccination records were out-of-date.

In mid-March, 5,032 suspension orders were sent out.

Families were told that they had until May 7 to provide updated vaccination records for students, proof of an upcoming vaccination appointment or a valid exemption from public health.

“Vaccination is the best way to protect against serious illness,” Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the region’s medical officer, said in a media release Thursday. “With the current increase of measles in southern Ontario, it is especially important to strengthen immunization rates among children and youth. Ensuring that students in our schools are protected through immunization also helps to keep the broader community safe and healthy.”

Ahead of the deadline for students, public health offered vaccination appointments at their clinics in Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo.

What to do if your child was suspended

Parents of students who were suspended may be unsure what to do next.

Public health shared the following guidance:

• Book a vaccine appointment with your health care provider or a Public Health Clinic. They must be booked online and no walk-ins will be accepted.
• If you already have a vaccine appointment booked, notify public health through the online form.
• Report any vaccines that have been received from your health care provider to public health through the online form.
• If you have questions or need support booking an appointment, call 519-575-4400. (Call volume is expected to be high and you may have to wait.)

Measles update

Public Health Ontario said, between Oct. 18, 2024 and May 6, 2025, there were 1,440 confirmed or probable cases of measles.

Just in the last week, 197 new illnesses were reported across the province.

Waterloo Region had 48 infections in total, an increase of nine since last week.

On Wednesday, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph was declared a high-risk area for measles. Public health officials said there were 63 confirmed or probable cases as of Wednesday morning. The new report from Public Health Ontario is slightly out-of-date, listing only 46 infections.

Southwestern Public Health reported 67 new cases in the last week. The total number of illnesses now linked to that area is 496.

Grand Erie Public Health, which covers Brant County, Brantford and Haldimand-Norfolk, had 18 new measles cases, bringing their total to 201 since last October.