Keep Your Child Healthy with Immunizations
As the school year continues, and you pack backpacks and prepare lunches, do not forget one of the most important ways to help your child stay healthy – make sure their immunizations and their immunization records are up-to-date.
Why Immunizations Matter
Immunization protects your child from serious diseases and keeps everyone around them safe, especially classmates, teachers and family members who may be more vulnerable. When more children are up-to-date with their immunizations:
- fewer kids and staff get sick and miss school
- parents can stay at work
- classrooms stay open for learning
Refusing or delaying vaccines and immunizing products for your child puts them at increased risk of serious illness. Measles can spread to the brain, causing brain damage and even death. Mumps can cause inflammation of the brain and heart muscle, hearing loss and sometimes permanent deafness. For many of the diseases that we immunize against, there is no cure; therefore, immunizations are the best way to prevent the disease and reduce community spread.
What You Can Do
It is natural to have questions about immunizations and the diseases they prevent. Take your questions to your healthcare provider. If your child is missing any routine immunizations:
- Book an appointment with your family doctor, a walk-in clinic or the Middlesex-London Health Unit.
- Report your child’s updated immunizations directly to the Health Unit. The easiest way to keep your child’s immunization record up to date is online, using the ICON tool. It is quick, secure and available in French too! https://mlhu.icon.ehealthontario.ca/#!/welcome
Tip: Make it a habit—every time your child gets a vaccine, update their record using ICON.
Have Questions?
- Visit https://www.healthunit.com/ or call 519-663-5317.
- Speak with a registered nurse through the SickKids Immunization InfoLine at https://www.sickkids.ca/immunizationinfoline.
Let us work together to give every child a safe, strong school career!
Submitted for the Middlesex-London Health Unit by Sarah Hill RN PHN and Heather
Bywaters RN PHN
