Middlesex London's medical officer of health is applauding new legislation that would take the responsibility of reporting children's immunization records out of the hands of parents and makes it harder for parents to get non-medical exemptions for their kids.
Dr. Chris Mackie says shifting reporting duties to medical professionals is a very positive step.
"There is a series of about a dozen vaccines over the course of four or five years of childhood," says Dr. Mackie. "It's a pain in the neck that parents don't need. Providers are being paid to give this vaccine, it makes sense to ask them to be reporting that they've given it as well."
Currently, parents are responsible for reporting their children's immunizations to their local public health unit.
The Ontario government introduced the amendments to the Immunization of School Pupils Act this week. If passed, parents trying to get exemptions for mandatory school vaccines for non-medical reasons will be required to attend education sessions delivered by their local health unit. The session would have to be completed before the exemption is granted.
"It's not clear whether this will have an impact or not," says Dr. Mackie. "We again think this is the right direction to go, a very strong positive signal but we're going to be monitoring closely to see if it actually does change vaccine uptake or not."
The government will consult with public health units across the province to determine the specifics on the education sessions.
Mackie reassures the routine vaccines given to children are extremely safe.
"They are given to hundreds of millions of children every year and they make a tremendous positive difference in people's lives," says Dr. Mackie. "Yes, there are some side effects but serious side effects are very, very rare and are measured closely and watched. We've got a great, free vaccination health program and everyone should be taking it from a health prospective."
Vaccines are given to children to protect against certain diseases including diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis (whooping cough), meningococcal disease, and varicella (chickenpox).
