The number of students suspended for not having up-to-date vaccinations has declined from last year, according to Kingston’s public health unit.
School suspensions for students in elementary and secondary schools in the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington area went into effect on Tuesday.
As of Friday, April 4, 369 students were set to be suspended due to lack of proper immunization.
Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health said that number decreased to 170 on Tuesday, and is decreasing by the hour.
Despite still having hundreds of students not up to date on their vaccinations this year, KFL&A Public Health said this year’s number is “good news” since the 2018 number was more than 400.
The local public health organization says that numbers from 2016 and 2017 show about 97 per cent of local seven-year-olds were up to date on their measles vaccine, 96 per cent were up to date on their diphtheria vaccines and 98 per cent were up to date on rubella immunization.
Students are required by the Immunization of School Pupils Act to be immunized against tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox (for those born after 2010) and meningococcal disease.
—With a file from Kevin Nielsen
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