Vaccine Exemptions
By law in Ontario
Public Health must have an up-to-date immunization record or valid exemption on file for each child attending:
- School (Immunization of School Pupils Act)
- A licensed child care centre or licensed home child care agency (Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014)
These laws require reporting one's choice. One choice is to stay up to date with the recommended vaccinations and report these vaccinations to Public Health. The other choice is to get and report an exemption.
Follow the instructions on this page to make sure the exemption is applied to your child's immunization record. If you have any questions about vaccines or vaccine exemptions, contact the vaccine team.
Important notice
Once an exemption has been applied, Public Health will not contact you about missing vaccines. This means your child will not receive any vaccination reminders. If your intention is to get your child vaccinated in the future, you can:
- Cancel the exemption, or
- Ask your health care provider what vaccinations your child needs or
- Contact the vaccine team about a catch up schedule for missed vaccines
How do I
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Protect my unvaccinated child
Our immune system uses vaccines to practise fighting germs so it knows what to do when faced with them.
Ontario's vaccination schedule for babies and toddlers and children at school protects your child when they are at most risk for those germs. Missing vaccinations puts your child at high risk of infection. Infection from certain disease can lead to serious, and sometimes fatal, outcomes.
Without vaccines to keep your child safe, it's critical for you to:
- Understand the risks and your responsibilities
- Learn about each vaccine preventable disease. Find out how they are spread, complications, signs and symptoms. Then you will know when to get urgent help for your child.
- Make sure the people surrounding your child are up-to-date with their vaccinations
Consider other possible implications for your child's future:
- Missing out on child care, school or other activities. In the event of an outbreak, Public Health notifies children at risk and may exclude them from child care or school for their protection until the risk of infection is over. In Niagara, this was done in 2015 for measles and 2017 for mumps.
- Some volunteer applications may request proof of vaccination
- Admission requirements for college and university programs. Check and see if up-to-date vaccinations are required, such as medical, child and youth care, education placements or practicum courses.
If you're unsure, we're here to help. Contact the vaccine team.
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Complete the exemption process for my school aged child
Exemptions for the Immunization of School Pupils Act fall under the Ontario Ministry of Health.
Statement of Medical Exemption
Sometimes there is evidence a child is immune to a disease, making further vaccination unnecessary. Other times, a medical condition may prevent a child from receiving a vaccination.
All three steps must be completed in the following order:
- Download and complete the Ontario Ministry of Health's Statement of Medical Exemption (Immunization of School Pupils Act). If you're unable to access the form, contact the vaccine team to have one emailed or mailed to you.
- Have a physician or nurse practitioner complete the form. Keep a copy for your personal records.
- Submit the original completed Statement of Medical Exemption to Public Health. See under 'Submit exemption information to Public Health'.
Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief process
The steps on how to complete this process are being updated.
To receive a vaccine exemption for a school aged child, the Ontario Ministry of Health requires the parent / legal guardian to complete a prescribed immunization (vaccine) education session and get a Vaccine Education Certificate. The Vaccine Education Certificate is submitted to Public Health with a commissioned Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief (Immunization of School Pupils Act) Affidavit.
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Get an exemption for my child in child care
Exemptions for the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 fall under the Ministry of Education.
Child care exemption forms expire when your child enters school in September. At that time, you will need to complete the exemption process for your school aged child.
Statement of Medical Exemption
Sometimes there is evidence a child is immune to a disease, making further vaccination unnecessary. Other times, a medical condition may prevent a child from receiving a vaccination.
All three steps must be completed in the following order:
- Download and complete the Ontario Ministry of Education's Statement of Medical Exemption (Child Care and Early Years Act). If you're unable to access the form, contact the vaccine team to have one emailed or mailed to you.
- Have a physician or nurse practitioner complete the form. Keep a copy for your personal records.
- Submit the original completed Statement of Medical Exemption to your licensed child care operator. Licensed child care operators send a copy to Public Health so we can apply it to your child's immunization record.
Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief process
All four steps must be completed in the following order:
- Download and complete the Ontario Ministry of Education's Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief (Child Care and Early Years Act) form. If you're unable to access the form, contact the vaccine team to have one emailed or mailed to you.
- Use the vaccine exemption checklist to make sure your Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief (Child Care and Early Years Act) form is ready to be commissioned by a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits
- Have it signed by a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits. Keep a copy of the commissioned Affidavit for your records.
- Provide the original completed Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief (Child Care and Early Years Act) Affidavit to your licensed child care operator. Licensed child care operators send a copy to Public Health so we can apply it to your child’s immunization record.
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Find a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits
For your child to be exempted due to conscience or religious belief, you must complete the appropriate form and get it signed by a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits in Ontario.
Start by calling Niagara Region at 905-980-6000 or 1-800-263-7215 to book an appointment with a Commissioner for Taking for Affidavits. This service is free through the Office of the Regional Clerk, Niagara Region.
You could also contact your city / town. There may be a fee charged for this service. You will need to:
- Confirm if your city / town has a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits who does Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief Affidavits
- Check if there is a cost and what methods of payment they take
- Find out if an appointment is needed
- Learn what photo identification is required
Make sure your Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief Affidavit gets applied to your child's immunization record. Before you see a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits, be sure you have followed all instructions that apply for your child under:
- Complete the exemption process for your school aged child (Immunization of School Pupils Act)
- Get an exemption for my child in child care (Child Care and Early Years Act)
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Submit exemption information to Public Health
To submit exemption information to Public Health, you can:
Drop off
Write "Attention VPD" on sealed envelope
Drop off at a Public Health office from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Thorold / St. Catharines Public Health offices
Niagara Falls Public Health offices
Welland Public Health officesMail
Write "Attention VPD" on the envelope
P.O. Box 1052, Station Main
Thorold, ON L2V 0A2Fax
905-688-8225
Email
Email the Vaccine Preventable Disease Program
- By communicating with us, you’re agreeing to keep the exchange of personal health information to a minimum. Public Health's privacy statement.
When all the information has been received and confirmed by Niagara Region Public Health to be complete, accurate and valid, the exemption will be applied to your child's immunization record. For children attending school, this means they will no longer risk suspension.
If all the information has not been received, Niagara Region Public Health will contact you. This may be in the form of a mailed letter (for example, an Immunization Reminder Notice or an Order for Suspension from Attendance at School), phone call or email.
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Find out why the exemption has not been applied to my child's immunization record
Exemptions are applied to a child's immunization record when all the information has been received and confirmed by Niagara Region Public Health to be complete, accurate and valid.
If you previously submitted an exemption form to Public Health for your child when they attended a licensed childcare facility, it's no longer valid. Child care exemption forms expire when the child enters school in September. You will now need to complete the exemption process for your school aged child.
To find out why the exemption has not been applied to your child's immunization record, call Public Health at 905-688-8248 or 1-888-505-6074 ext. 7425. You can also double check that you followed all the instructions that apply to your child under:
- Complete the exemption process for your school aged child (Immunization of School Pupils Act)
- Get an exemption for my child in child care (Child Care and Early Years Act)
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Cancel an exemption
If a medical exemption no longer applies, or if you changed your mind and want to get your child vaccinated, contact the vaccine team and we'll help you with a vaccine catch up schedule for your child.