Canadian Medical Association wants proof kids have been vaccinated
Posted August 26, 2015 4:50 pm.
Last Updated August 26, 2015 4:52 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The Canadian Medical Association wants schools to be able to force parents to provide vaccination histories for their kids. They’re echoing a request BC’s top doctor made quite a while ago.
Canadian doctors say schools need to be able to ask parents to prove their kids are vaccinated. The CMA passed a resolution at the end of its yearly conference in Halifax asking governments to give schools the power to compel parents to declare the immunization status of their kids.
President of the CMA Cindy Forbes says it’s a better approach than mandatory vaccinations. “It really kind of inflames the conversation and we’re looking to have a very reasoned, rational conversation with our patients and not have a situation where someone is telling them what they have to do.”
BC’s Chief Medical Health Officer Perry Kendall says have that information on hand would protect children who up aren’t to date as well. “If you’ve got an outbreak in a school, the sooner you can exclude the child, the better. And if you have to then run around chasing parents to get the records down, time passes and the kids remain susceptible.”
Dr. Kendall says Ontario seems to be having success with a similar program. “A child who doesn’t have a record of being immunized… can be, in fact, excluded from the school until a record is produced and this is quite effective.”
Parents in Ontario can still opt out for personal, religious and medical reasons. They are just required to make their choice known. Dr. Kendall says this should public health get to parents who don’t actively object, but just didn’t get around to it.
