WATCH: An immunization clinic is being held at a Surrey elementary school today — after officials learned that students and staff may have been exposed to Hepatitis A. Elaine Yong reports.
Surrey’s North Ridge Elementary is hosting a mass immunization clinic on Monday after several students and staff caught hepatitis A in recent weeks.
The immunization clinic will take place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on March 16 at the school gym.
The school has about 350 students, but Fraser Health is not saying how many people are infected. They’re asking anyone who hasn’t had two doses of the vaccine in the past, or been infected with the virus, to get immunized.
Get weekly health news
WATCH: An elementary school in Surrey is dealing with multiple cases of Hepatitis A, and that’s prompting a mass immunization clinic at the school tomorrow. Jeremy Hunka reports.
“It’s mostly been within the students. Why we are vaccinating at this point in time is that it’s spread beyond the cluster we began with,” says Dr. Helena Swinkels with the Fraser Health Authority.
“Usually when we have a student with hepatitis A, we don’t tend to immunize the school, but we know in this case it has been spreading a little bit, so we are proactively vaccinating everybody to make sure it doesn’t go further.”
Surrey School District spokesperson Doug Strachan says the school has been fully cleaned and they’re deferring to Fraser Health on how to combat the spread of the virus. He says because of the nature of hepatitis A, there could some students spreading the virus who haven’t developed symptoms yet.
-
![]()
Canadian Medical Associations apologizes for harms to Indigenous people -
![]()
Does aspartame cause cancer? No more than aloe vera and pickled veggies, based on latest risk level -
![]()
Health Matters: Canada to use Pfizer’s ‘Abrysvo’ RSV vaccine -
![]()
Mighty Millions Lottery back in support of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation
“They would prefer that everyone would be there to be immunized as a precaution.”
Though it’s not believed the general public is at risk, Fraser Health is urging anyone who develops symptoms over the next six weeks to be tested.
Hepatitis A is a viral liver disease with symptoms ranging from diarrhea, vomiting and jaundice. In rare cases, it can lead to liver failure and death.
The hepatitis A vaccine can prevent infection from the virus when given within 14 days of exposure. However, people who have had hepatitis A in the past, or previously received two doses of the vaccine, are protected and do not need further vaccination.
– With files from Amy Judd
Comments