Health
Around 410 London, Ont. students remain suspended for lacking vaccine records
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Around 410 London and Middlesex area students remain suspended from school as of Wednesday evening for lacking submitted immunization records with the Middlesex-London Health Unit.
MLHU officials say that while over 1,100 students were set to be suspended Wednesday, that number had dropped to 675 by 11 a.m. and then again to 410 by 5 p.m. as parents submitted proper documentation.
The local health unit resumed suspending elementary or high school students in January for not having up-to-date immunization records.
Because there are so many students lacking documentation with the health unit, the suspensions are being done in seven different cohorts between January and the end of May. The suspensions this week are for the fourth cohort.
Dr. Alex Summers, the medical officer of health for Middlesex-London, says it is not a mandatory vaccination issue but instead a mandatory reporting issue.
“We know that there is probably a number of students out there that have received the vaccines, but we just don’t have their records,” said Summers.
Under the Ontario Immunization of Student Pupils Act, Grade 1-12 students are required to have up-to-date immunization reporting for nine preventable diseases. If a student’s vaccination or a valid exemption is not recorded, the local health has the authority to issue school suspensions.
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Students must be immunized against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, meningococcal disease and whooping cough. Kids born in 2010 or later are also required to have the chickenpox shot.
Once a child is vaccinated, families are responsible for submitting the updated records to the health unit or submitting an exemption.
The health unit began the process of getting immunization records updated again a little under a year ago, sending out 42,000 letters last school year to families with missing records.
The first two cohorts in January and February had a combined 2,300 suspensions from 7,600 notices issued a month before the suspensions.
“Rapidly, many of those students come off the suspension list because that due date really helps people move forward with submitting records or getting vaccinations done,” said Summers.
None of the students suspended in the first two cohorts remain away from school.
The third cohort, which had its suspensions begin on March 1, has had the vast majority of students return to school, with less than 60 continuing to be suspended from 3,300 notices.
A spokesperson for the Thames Valley District School Board says the board supports all students who are not able to learn in-person, no matter the reason.
“Educators post work in the digital classrooms and families can reach out to the school/educator directly for independent learning activities,” said the board in a statement in Global News.
The MLHU has run 28 special clinics since the start of 2023 to help students and parents catch up on vaccinations that may have been missed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 2,000 people have received over 4,000 vaccines during the special clinics.
Summers says catch-up clinics will continue to run into April to give families every opportunity to get caught up on vaccines. And while the issue is considered a documentation and not a vaccination issue, Summers says vaccines are essential to a healthy life.
“Because of the vaccines we have available to us, we have a much significantly higher quality of life than we used to a 100 years ago,” said Summers.
“Without high vaccination coverage in our region, we will see outbreaks locally.”
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The USask Global Institute for Water Security wastewater survey for Prince Albert shows that the COVID-19 viral RNA load in Prince Albert’s has decreased by 46.5 per cent.
This was after there was a single decrease in last week’s report.
The number is based on averages of three individual daily measurements in this reporting period up to May 22 which are then compared to the weekly average of the previous week.
This week’s viral load of approximately 10,000 gene copies / 100 mL SARS-CoV-2 is the 85th-highest value observed during the pandemic.
This concentration of viral particles is considered Low because it is below the range and regarded as low in Prince Albert.
This week’s viral RNA load indicates that the SARS-CoV-2 infections in Prince Albert are reducing.
Whole genome sequencing confirmed the presence of BQ.1, BQ.1.1, BQ.1.1.4, BQ.1.18, XBB.1.5, BA.5.2.1 and BE.1.1 in earlier samples; which have S:Y144del, S:R346T, S:K444T, S:N460K mutations associated with immune escape. In addition, the sequences of the most recently collected sample relative to the previously collected samples indicate the level of presence of BA.2 and BA.5 in Prince Albert’s wastewater to be 94 per cent and 78 per cent stable respectively.
All data has been shared with Saskatchewan health authorities.
USask and Global Water Futures researchers are using wastewater-based epidemiology to monitor for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing COVID-19) in Saskatoon, Prince Albert and North Battleford wastewater, providing early warning of infection outbreaks. This work is being done in partnership with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Public Health Agency of Canada, City of Saskatoon, City of Prince Albert and City of North Battleford.
This variant tracking data should be seen merely as an indicator of trends which need to be verified using sequencing technology through the Public Health Agency of Canada. Because individuals are at varying stages of infection when shedding the virus, the variant levels detected in sewage are not necessarily directly comparable to the proportion of variant cases found in individual swab samples confirmed through provincial genetic sequencing efforts.
editorial@paherald.sk.ca
Health
Just when we were starting to see COVID and RSV rates drop this spring, another type of virus contributed to a spike in respiratory infections
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- Human metapneumovirus spiked this spring as cases of COVID and RSV fell.
- According to the CDC, 19.6% of antigen tests and nearly 11% of PCR tests for HMPV, were positive in the US in early March.
- Symptoms of HMPV include cough, fever, nasal congestion, and shortness of breath.
Cases of another type of respiratory virus have spiked this spring, just as COVID-19 and RSV rates were finally falling in the US.
According to the CDC, 19.6% of antigen tests and nearly 11% of PCR tests for human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, were positive in the US in early March.
The nearly 11% of positive PCR cases is up 36% since before the COVID-19 pandemic when PCR tests for HMPV were coming back with a rate of 7% positivity, according to the CDC.
In contrast, COVID-19 cases were down nearly 30% at the beginning of March, according to the World Health Organization, and the number of people being hospitalized for RSV was down to 1.2 people per 100,000 in March from 4.5 people per 100,000 in January, according to the CDC.
Symptoms of HMPV include cough, fever, nasal congestion, and shortness of breath, according to the CDC. The symptoms could progress into bronchitis, pneumonia, or other similar viruses that cause upper and lower respiratory infections.
The CDC said some might be sicker for longer than others, and the duration of the virus depends on the severity, but for the most part, is similar in length to other respiratory infections caused by viruses.
The virus is spread by coughs and sneezes, close personal contact, and touching surfaces infected with the virus, then touching the mouth, nose, or eyes.
According to CNN, there’s no vaccine for HMPV, nor is there an antiviral drug to treat it.
Health
Just when we were starting to see COVID and RSV rates drop this spring, another type of virus contributed to a spike in respiratory infections
|
|
- Human metapneumovirus spiked this spring as cases of COVID and RSV fell.
- According to the CDC, 19.6% of antigen tests and nearly 11% of PCR tests for HMPV, were positive in the US in early March.
- Symptoms of HMPV include cough, fever, nasal congestion, and shortness of breath.
Cases of another type of respiratory virus have spiked this spring, just as COVID-19 and RSV rates were finally falling in the US.
According to the CDC, 19.6% of antigen tests and nearly 11% of PCR tests for human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, were positive in the US in early March.
The nearly 11% of positive PCR cases is up 36% since before the COVID-19 pandemic when PCR tests for HMPV were coming back with a rate of 7% positivity, according to the CDC.
In contrast, COVID-19 cases were down nearly 30% at the beginning of March, according to the World Health Organization, and the number of people being hospitalized for RSV was down to 1.2 people per 100,000 in March from 4.5 people per 100,000 in January, according to the CDC.
Symptoms of HMPV include cough, fever, nasal congestion, and shortness of breath, according to the CDC. The symptoms could progress into bronchitis, pneumonia, or other similar viruses that cause upper and lower respiratory infections.
The CDC said some might be sicker for longer than others, and the duration of the virus depends on the severity, but for the most part, is similar in length to other respiratory infections caused by viruses.
The virus is spread by coughs and sneezes, close personal contact, and touching surfaces infected with the virus, then touching the mouth, nose, or eyes.
According to CNN, there’s no vaccine for HMPV, nor is there an antiviral drug to treat it.
Read the original article on Insider
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