New data presented at a Toronto Public Health (TPH) meeting on Monday found that numbers are down for highschoolers who have their routine vaccinations.
Just about 22 per cent of Grade 12 students in Toronto are reportedly vaccinated against diseases, including the Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Diphtheria, Meningococcal, Tetanus, Polio, Pertussis and Chicken pox.
Under Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA), it is required that students are vaccinated against these nine diseases, or have a valid exemption.
Prior to the pandemic, data showed that 91 per cent of Grade 11 students and 87 per cent of Grade 12 students had gotten their routine vaccinations.
Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vinita Dubey said in the meeting that the TPH had been working hard to get the numbers back on track since June 2022, administering more than 114,000 vaccines last year.
“Despite these tremendous efforts for catch up, our vaccination rates post-pandemic are lower compared to before the pandemic,” Dubey said.
The decrease could be a result of a number of reasons, according to Dubey, including students not reporting their immunization, or lack of primary care access during the pandemic.
