Catch-up immunization clinics now available for current Grade 8 students

Catch-up immunization clinics for current Grade 8 students who missed Grade 7 vaccines due to COVID-19 in the spring, are now being offered by appointment only by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU). Clinics are scheduled to begin the week of Nov. 2. Families can call Health Connection to book an appointment.                                                                                                    
“It’s important that students complete the immunization series for Hepatitis B (Hep B) and Human Papillomavirus (HPV),” said Dr. Colin Lee, associate medical officer of health for SMDHU. “They need both doses of each vaccine for the best protection against these diseases.”
Clinics will be held in health unit offices across Simcoe Muskoka one to two days a week as needed through to the spring. It’s estimated upwards of 2,200 students will need to be immunized.
School immunization clinics will not be held during the 2020/2021 school year due to COVID-19. Instead they will be offered for both Grade 7 and 8 students in the 2021/22 school year. Normally, SMDHU nurses would visit each elementary school in Simcoe Muskoka offering three vaccines to Grade 7 students. The meningococcal vaccine (one dose) vaccine is usually offered at school clinics during the fall, while first doses of Hep B and HPV immunizations are offered in the fall, followed by the second dose in the spring. 
For more information or to book an appointment, call Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 ext. 8827, weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. or see www.smdhu.org.