Health Professionals Update – Vol. 19, No. 25
From:
Dr. Nicholas Brandon, MD, MA, MSc, CCFP, FRCPC
Associate Medical Officer of Health
In this issue
- Immunization screening letters for the 2026-2027 school year.
- Reminders about meningococcal and polio vaccines.
Key messages
- Peel Public Health is mailing letters to students who have not provided updated immunization records, to attend school as required under the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA).
- Polio immunization will be included in the ISPA letters for the 2026-2027 school year.
- Men-C-ACYW vaccines can be ordered for overdue students.
- Students may be contacting their physician’s office for immunization or to obtain a copy of their immunization record.
- Remind parents and guardians to report their child’s immunizations to Peel Public Health.
- Please review your vaccine supply and order accordingly due to anticipated increase in demand.
Immunization screening letters for the 2026-2027 school year
Beginning October 8, Peel Public Health will mail immunization letters to students who require immunizations as outlined in the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA).
For the 2026-2027 school year:
- Immunization record screening and suspension enforcement (up to 20 school days) will apply to students in Senior Kindergarten (SK) to Grade 3 and Grades 11 to 12, attending publicly funded schools.
- Suspension enforcement mailouts will start in January 2027 and continue for the different groups of students into May 2027.
Immunization requirements align with the Publicly Funded Immunization Schedules in Ontario. The minimum age and minimum time interval between doses must be followed to meet the ISPA requirements.
What to do if a student presents with a screening letter
If a student presents at your practice with an immunization screening letter, follow these steps:
- Check your records for the student’s immunization history. If the student has already received the vaccines listed on the form, provide this information to the parent or guardian.
- Administer missing vaccines as needed if the student has not received the vaccines, following the Publicly Funded Immunization Schedules in Ontario.
- Remind parents and guardians to report their child’s immunizations online or call Peel Public Health 905-799-7700, toll free 1-888-919-7800.
Vaccines received outside of Ontario should be considered valid if there is written documentation of administration of vaccine at ages and intervals comparable with the Ontario Publicly Funded Schedule. The record for these vaccines should be in English or translated by you, your patient or a relative to be considered valid.
ISPA reminders
Meningococcal vaccine requirements
Students in SK to Grade 3 require one dose of Men-C-C vaccine (Menjugate/NeisVac-C), routinely given on or after their first birthday. Due to the recent discontinuation of Men-C-C, Men-C-ACYW is to be administered if your supply of Men-C-C is depleted.
Students in Grades 11 and 12 require one dose of Men-C-ACYW (NIMENRIX/MenQuadfi/MENVEO), routinely given in Grade 7 as part of the school vaccination program.
Peel physicians can order Men-C-ACYW (NIMENRIX/MenQuadfi/MENVEO) for students who received a letter indicating that their meningococcal vaccine is overdue.
Updated Polio vaccine guidance for children with history of receiving OPV
In April 2024, the Ministry of Health released updated polio immunization recommendations for children who received oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV), aligning with guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). This applies particularly to children who were previously immunized outside of Canada.
Implications for ISPA
Polio immunization will be included in ISPA letters for the 2026-2027 school year. You may encounter a larger volume of students requiring polio immunization.
Polio immunization recommendations
Some children previously considered up to date for polio may now require re-immunization. Healthcare providers are recommended to:
- presume that any recorded doses of OPV administered on or after April 1, 2016, are invalid.
- administer an age-appropriate series of IPV or IPV-containing vaccine, which covers all three poliovirus types as per the Publicly Funded Immunization Schedules for Ontario. Monovalent IPV (IMOVAX Polio) and IPV-containing vaccines can be ordered from PPH.
Ordering routine vaccines
An increase in demand for routine vaccines is expected through the end of the 2026-2027 school year. Please ensure you have at least a one-month supply of vaccines on hand. Continue to monitor your vaccine inventory and refrigerator capacity closely, and place orders as needed to maintain adequate stock. Order vaccines
Contact us
The Health Professionals Update (HPU) is distributed to physician offices in Peel region via fax or email. Share this update with other health professionals in your clinic.
More information
- Review past HPUs
- Subscribe to HPU emails
- For questions about this update, email healthprofessionals@peelregion.ca