The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is embarking on a plan to catch up on overdue non-COVID-19 vaccines for school aged children.
According to a report, nearly 8,000 shots need to be administered to students with those born in 2009 accounting for the most missed immunizations.
Director of Health Protection Kristy McBeth says a number of community catch up clinics are in the works including one at the COVID-19 mass vaccination site at Devonshire Mall.
She says the clinic at the former Sears will open up next month.
"We're going to close the site for a few days and reopen on Tuesday, March 8 and at that point it'll be a dual offer clinic," she says. "We'll be running it Tuesday through Saturday. We'll also be offering additional community catch up clinics for these vaccines really starting from April all the way through the summer."
McBeth says Grade 12 students needing shots should get them soon.
"The 2004 birth year, so these are our Grade 12 students right now that are out of date," says McBeth. "They're really important for us to support as a community because they will age out of eligibility to be able to receive these vaccines for free. So we've got some real targeted strategies to try and encourage those folks to contact their healthcare providers or come visit us."
She's reminding parents to update their children's records to ensure they're not suspended from school.
"Our catch up plan, there's a lot of record review involved in this," she says. "Our website continues to be available. We encourage all parents to update their child's records online. One of the things we'll need to talk about in the coming months and really look at is our suspension process and timeline."
Appointments for vaccinations are available at the health unit as well.
McBeth says the goal is to catch up on vaccines over the summer so the health unit can return to its standard immunization program for the upcoming school year.