Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Ontario Proposes Tougher Rules For Exempting School Kids From Vaccinations

The Canadian Press, 11 Dec, 2015 11:19 AM
  • Ontario Proposes Tougher Rules For Exempting School Kids From Vaccinations
TORONTO — Ontario is looking to strengthen the requirements for parents who want to exempt school children from vaccines for non-medical reasons.
 
Health Minister Eric Hoskins says the proposed new strategy, called Immunization 2020, will strengthen the publicly funded immunization program by requiring parents who want a non-medical exemption for their kids to attend an education session.
 
Parents would have to take a course at their local public health unit on the benefits of vaccines and the "very real risks" their children face if they are not immunized before they can get an exemption.
 
Hoskins says it's time to update Ontario's 1982 law — the first of its kind in Canada — that required children be vaccinated against certain diseases in order to be able to attend school, unless they had a valid exemption.
 
There will also be public education campaigns on immunization and an online tool to help remind parents of their children's vaccination schedules, based on birthdays.
 
Hoskins says the new plan "is a call for action and participation for health-care workers, public health specialists and all Ontarians involved with the province's immunization system," and follows recommendations of the auditor general.
 
The auditor concluded last December that the Ministry of Health has no way of tracking the percentage of Ontarians immunized for certain diseases, or whether its immunization program is cost-effective.
 
A report this year from the C.D. Howe Institute and another from an independent panel of medical experts both criticized the lack of data on Ontario's immunization programs.

MORE National ARTICLES

Police In Grenada Search For New Brunswick Woman Who Disappeared While Jogging

Police In Grenada Search For New Brunswick Woman Who Disappeared While Jogging
ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada — Police in Grenada are searching the small Caribbean island for a missing woman from New Brunswick who disappeared while out jogging with her dog.

Police In Grenada Search For New Brunswick Woman Who Disappeared While Jogging

High-Income Earners Urged To Make Changes Now To Avoid Income Tax Increase

High-Income Earners Urged To Make Changes Now To Avoid Income Tax Increase
Tax experts say if you are lucky enough to find yourself in Ottawa's new top bracket — those earning $200,000 or more — you shouldn't defer any income that you can take this year because you'll pay more if you do.

High-Income Earners Urged To Make Changes Now To Avoid Income Tax Increase

Ontario Spends $20 Million To Build Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Ontario Spends $20 Million To Build Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
PARIS — Ontario's Liberal government will spend $20 million to create more public charging stations for electric vehicles.

Ontario Spends $20 Million To Build Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Money On The Line: Winner Of Grey Cup 50/50 Prize Pot Yet To Come Forward

Money On The Line: Winner Of Grey Cup 50/50 Prize Pot Yet To Come Forward
WINNIPEG — It’s been more than a week since the Edmonton Eskimos won the Grey Cup, but there's another prize that's still up for grabs.

Money On The Line: Winner Of Grey Cup 50/50 Prize Pot Yet To Come Forward

Fentanyl Continues To Claim B.C. Lives Despite Education: Police

Fentanyl Continues To Claim B.C. Lives Despite Education: Police
Police in Delta, B.C, issued a warning over the weekend after two people used cocaine and inadvertently overdosed on fentanyl. 

Fentanyl Continues To Claim B.C. Lives Despite Education: Police

Alberta's Suicide Rate Jumps Significantly In First Half Of 2015

Mara Grunau with the Centre for Suicide Prevention says the numbers jumped 30 per cent in the first half of 2015.

Alberta's Suicide Rate Jumps Significantly In First Half Of 2015