Public health officials in Chatham-Kent are playing catch up on a backlog of standard student immunizations due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Chatham-Kent Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby said over the past two years, numerous students who would have received their Meningococcal, Hepatitis B, and Human Papillomavirus vaccines in Grade 7, have fallen behind on their immunizations.
“As the Omicron wave is coming under control, we at the health unit are looking at some of the things we need to catch up on,” said Colby. “One of those is that some students in Grades 7, 8, and 9 missed their school-based immunizations due to the pandemic.”
The Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit plans to run a special clinic in March and April, to provide those three missed immunizations. The clinic will be held at recently relocated COVID-19 vaccine clinic at 730 Richmond Street on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“Some of those students would have got their shots from their family doctors and other health practitioners, but we basically ensure at the health unit that all of the school kids are vaccinated and we are aware that we need to play catchup a little bit,” Colby added.
Appointments are currently required and can be booked online the same way COVID-19 vaccine appointments are scheduled at GetYourShotCK.ca.