Public Health holding school immunizations clinics to catch-up Grade 7 students from 2019-2020 school year

Grade 7 students from the 2019-2020 school year will be able to get up-to-date on immunizations at clinics hosted by Public Health in July and August. The second round of clinics for this past school year were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and response.​

“It was necessary to postpone the second round of clinics for the past school year but we are really happy to be able to offer these now so that students can be up to date on immunizations before the next school year starts,” said Cara-Leah Hmidan, Health Protection Manager with NSHA Public Health.​

Planning is still underway and full details will be posted on July 6 at www.nshealth.ca/immunizations under School Immunization Clinics. Families of Grade 7 students from 2019-2020 will also receive information from their schools early next week.​

One of the key considerations for the clinics is following guidelines around safety from COVID-19.​

“While we are encouraged at the decline of COVID-19 activity in Nova Scotia, we are taking all appropriate precautions and following guidelines to reduce risk of any COVID-19 transmission at the clinics,” said Hmidan.

This includes designing a new flow process, having additional staff present to support students, ensuring access to handwashing/hand sanitizer and regular cleaning according to the same guidelines used at other medical clinics. Students will also get to make appointments for the clinics, to help with the number of people present at any one time and also make it easier for families to accommodate.

The decline in COVID-19 activity also means more team members are now available to host and run the clinics.​

“We don’t want students to get behind on their immunizations – we want them to have the fullest protection possible when it comes to these diseases (Hepatitis B, Human Papillomavirus, Meningococcal Disease, Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Acellular Pertussis). Not only will these clinics help us get close to 9,200 students immunized, we’ll also be able to learn some lessons that will help us plan clinics for the coming school year.”

Public Health is working in partnership with schools in the province to make the arrangements. Information about school immunization clinics, which families of Grade 7 students receive each fall, is available at www.nshealth.ca/immunizations.​