About school immunization

Every year, Alberta Health Services Public Health School Immunization Program reviews immunization records for children in Grades 1, 6, and 9.

Your child's immunization records are reviewed to determine what vaccines are recommended for them and what vaccines they may have missed according to Alberta's routine immunization schedule.

You (the parent or guardian) will get an information package sent to your home. The package includes a consent form and information for each vaccine that is recommended for your child.

Consent

Your child can only be immunized in school with your permission (consent). Your child will not get any vaccines at school unless you have signed and returned the consent form for each vaccine included in the information package.

On the day of school immunizations, all students from a class may be called or brought down to the immunization area. Only students whose parents or guardians have given consent will be immunized in school.

What to expect

Vaccines

With your consent, a public health nurse will give your child the recommended vaccines at school. Vaccines in this program may include:

• Grades 1, 6, and 9: Any routine childhood and school vaccines that your child may have missed according to their immunization record on file. This could include vaccines such as Tdap-IPV, MMR, MMR-Var, and others.
• Grade 6: Hepatitis B vaccine for children who have not already completed a hepatitis B series and HPV-9 vaccine.
• Grade 9: Tdap and MenC-ACYW vaccine.

If you have questions about the vaccines recommended for your child or immunization in school, contact your local public health or community health centre or call Health Link at 811.

School presentations

Public health nurses give presentations to students in Grades 6 and 9 before they are immunized at school.

The presentations talk about immunization. Students will have a chance to ask questions about the vaccines being offered.

Topics covered are:

• immunity and immunization
• how vaccines work
• vaccines offered in their grade
• diseases the vaccines protect against
  • how these diseases spread
  • health problems these diseases can cause
• vaccine side effects

The presentations also teach students:

• about parent or guardian consent for the vaccines
• how to get ready for immunization, including ways to feel more comfortable
• what to expect on immunization day at school
• what to do after getting immunized