Summer Vaccination Catch Up for Students

To: Health Care Professionals in Niagara
From: Clinical Services Division, Niagara Region Public Health
Reference: Summer Vaccination Catch Up for Students
Date: July 16, 2025

This memo is to inform you of an upcoming mailout to students reminding them to get caught up with their vaccination(s) and reporting to Public Health. These letters may prompt an increase in vaccination requests for your office.

Catch Up for Grade 7 Vaccines

Some students in grade 7 missed the opportunity to get vaccinated at their school during the 2024-2025 school year. Public Health is sending approximately 2,000 letters this summer to parents and legal guardians whose child remains eligible to receive Grade 7 publicly funded vaccines.

We are encouraging these students to get vaccinated this summer by booking an appointment at a Public Health clinic or with their primary care provider.

Reminders to Report Immunization Record to Public Health

While the 2025-2026 immunization record review (Immunization of School Pupils Act, or the ISPA) doesn’t start until fall, Public Health is hoping to reduce the number of official notices that will need to be sent by sending reminders now. Over 1,200 students will be contacted this summer to ask them to report their missing vaccination information to Public Health, specifically:

Students 4 to 17 years old with no immunization record on file
Students 7 and 17 years old with missing vaccination information

Health Care Provider Actions

Have appointments available to help students catch up on missed vaccines and ensure your office has enough vaccine
- Use the Vaccine Order Form for Physicians and Primary Care to order ISPA vaccines
- Use the School Program Vaccine Order Form to order Grade 7 vaccines. When administering combined hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccine (Twinrix® or Twinrix Jr.®) to children, please remind parents/guardians to report their child’s vaccines directly to Public Health.
If you need a patient’s immunization record in order to provide service, ask the patient or parent/guardian to access their record for you
Order the notification tear-off pads with QR code (select Vaccines and Immunization) for your office to support the parent or legal guardian in reporting their child’s vaccine to Public Health

Contact Public Health

Call 905-688-8248 or 1-888-505-6074 ext. 7396. Please state that you are a health care provider, and we will prioritize your call during times of high call volume.