June 28, 2019
The Government of British Columbia recently approved the
Vaccine Status Reporting Regulation (the Regulation).
The introduction of the Regulation under the Public Health
Act is Phase 2, in an effort to increase immunization rates in BC. Phase 1 was
the Measles Catch-Up Program for school-age children, which is wrapping up at
the end of June. Under the Regulation, every student from Kindergarten to Grade
12 in public and independent schools, and those who are home-schooled, will be
expected to have their complete immunization records in the Provincial
Immunization Registry.
The Regulation will come into force on July 1, 2019, and
planning for implementation is already underway and will begin in late August
with an Immunization Records Review conducted by public health for all
school-age children. Only parents or guardians of children whose records are
missing or incomplete will be contacted by public health and they will be
provided with further instructions on how to proceed. The initial priority will
be students in Kindergarten, Grade 6 and Grade 9, to ensure these school-age
children continue to receive the age-appropriate vaccinations on schedule.
To date, we appreciate for your efforts in support of the
measles Catch-Up Program, and we thank you in advance for assisting with the
implementation of the Regulation. We will continue to share more information as
the Ministry of Health progresses with the implementation of this regulation.
In the interim, more information on the Regulation can be
found at ImmunizeBC, and HealthLinkBC.