Thunder Bay health unit to set up immunization clinics, "ramp up" public health efforts

The Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU) announced on Thursday that catch-up immunization clinics will be held in various locations throughout the City of Thunder Bay this fall.

Grade eight students attending school in the City of Thunder Bay and surrounding area who missed a grade seven vaccinationdue to the COVID-19 pandemic can now make an appointment at the health unit immunization clinic to receive any outstanding doses.

"In the spring, the school-based immunization program and our immunization enforcement activities were halted due to the pandemic response," said Dr. Janet DeMille, Medical Officer of Health for Thunder Bay District Health Unit.

The TBDHU held school-based clinics in the fall of 2019, but the second set of clinics scheduled for spring 2020 were cancelled due to the pandemic and school closures.

Most students who were in grade sevenduring the last academic school year still require a second dose of both the hepatitis B and HPV vaccines, with some students also needing the meningococcal vaccine if they missed the 2019 clinic.

"We are currently ramping up essential public health services such as immunizations. It is important to prevent cases and outbreaks of diseases that are vaccine preventable," said DeMille.

A complete list of clinic dates and locations is available at the TBDHU website. Clinics are by appointment only.

Parents and caregivers of students who were in grade sevenlast year are encouraged to call TBDHU at 625-5900 to set up an appointment and to get information on the vaccines their child may be missing.

The health unit is also asking parents or caregivers of students who received the missing vaccines from their health care provider to report them to TBDHU to ensure the immunization record is up to date.

Additional catch-up clinics for grade sevenand high school students are planned for later in the fall and this information will be communicated once details are available, according to the health unit.