Hamilton public health pausing vaccine-related school suspensions due to cyber attack

Hamilton public health says that due to an ongoing cybersecurity incident, it's going to wait before suspending high school students who are overdue for vaccines or don't have valid exemption records. 

Students born between 2006 and 2009 who don't have the necessary records or exemptions on file were warned in January that they would be suspended from school starting the week of March 4. 

The suspensions would have been carried out under Ontario's Immunization of School Pupils Act, which has the stated purpose of protecting children from diseases designated under the act, such as diphtheria, measles and tetanus. 

Officials are warning that measles may be spreading in Canadian communities, as there are at least nine confirmed infections this year. 

Measles may be spreading in some communities, health officials warn

9 months ago

Duration 3:25

Measles cases in greater Montreal and north of Toronto are concerning health officials because two of them are not connected to international travel and are also not tied to any other known cases in Canada. They say this might mean the virus is spreading in the community, and they urge people to get vaccinated.

Health officials such as those at Public Health Ontario have noted that many students fell behind on immunizations earlier in the pandemic. Recent polling shows growing opposition to childhood immunization, which some experts attribute to increased skepticism around vaccines. 

Cyber attack on city affecting numerous services

Because of a cyber attack on the city — which has affected numerous services — public health workers can't access updated student vaccine records being sent via fax or phone, the city said in a news release. Records may still be submitted via traditional mail or an online portal. 

Public health said it will "reassess and plan to resume enforcement" under the act at a later date. 

In the meantime, the service is offering catch-up clinics for students with overdue vaccinations or vaccination records from Monday to Friday, and again on March 11 and 12. The clinics will be held in the plaza of 110 King St. W., near FirstOntario Centre downtown. "We would strongly encourage students with overdue vaccination records to attend these clinics."

Earlier this week, city spokesperson Antonella Giancarlo told CBC Hamilton the breach has also affected public health's ability to post updates to its respiratory virus data dashboard, which tracks the spread of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19. 

Today, the city also shared it will postpone registration for spring recreation programs due to the attack. It has not publicly shared the cause or nature of the incident.