WATERLOO REGION – The region is now less than a month away from secondary students facing possible suspensions for out-of-date vaccination records, and is now sending out reminders to families before the date arrives.
“Secondary school suspensions will take effect on Thursday, April 9, 2026, for those who have received a suspension order from Public Health and have not updated their vaccination records or have a valid exemption on file by Monday, April 6, 2026, at 4:30 p.m.,” the region said in a release.
According to the region, letters requesting vaccination records were mailed out in December to 4,385 students who had incomplete records.
After that, suspension orders were mailed out in early March to 3,258 secondary school students who still had out-of-date records.
“Vaccines are one of the most effective ways to protect your child from serious illness,” said Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, Medical Officer of Health with the Region of Waterloo. “It is important to keep your child’s vaccines up to date and to report them to Public Health promptly to avoid school suspension.”
The region said that in order to avoid potential suspension, those records need to be reported to the region, and if a vaccination is still needed, appointments can be booked through Public Health.
“Routine vaccinations provide protection against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, meningitis, pertussis (whooping cough), and varicella (chickenpox),” said the region in a release. “The Immunization of School Pupils Act requires all elementary and secondary school students to have proof of these vaccinations or a valid exemption on file with Public Health.
The full list of details can be found on the Region of Waterloo’s website.
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