Month: October 2015

We would like to share with you an excellent article on the new nasal flu vaccine to help assist you as the fall flu season approaches.  This is also an appropriate time to remind you of our camp policy on immunization especially in light of the fact that so many campers, staff and families travel so much and can be exposed in today’s world to so many viruses. We strongly support the use of vaccines for immunization as they prevent serious illnesses and save lives. As camp directors, our effort to ensure a safe and healthy environment at camp includes health promotion, of which immunization is a key component. It is our obligation to protect the health of your child and those from the broader community that may interact with our camp population. By doing so, we align ourselves with school boards, the provincial and federal Minister of Health and the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada.

We request that all campers (and staff) at camp have received the recommended immunization program and that every parent/guardian (and staff) “triple check” their records to confirm all immunizations are up to date.  Our goal is to help partner with you to keep your children and families as safe as possible, whether your children attend camp or not.  In lieu of that we are enclosing a helpful article on the new nasal spray flu vaccine so you will have a better idea which flu vaccine is the best option for your child. 

Click on the link to read more about which flu vaccine to give to your child: http://health.sunnybrook.ca/wellness/nasal-spray-flu-vaccine-needle/

We trust that (as always) our approach places your child’s health and safety as the number one priority all year long. 

Mark and Jeff

Sanofi–aventis Canada Inc., in consultation with Health Canada, is recalling all lots of Allerject (0.15 mg/0.15mL and 0.3 mg/0.3 mL strength epinephrine auto-injectors) from the Canadian market. A similar recall is taking place in the United States, where it’s sold as Auvi-Q. I contacted Food Allergy Canada and they indicated that this recall is a voluntary recall from the company which shows how cautious they are being.  

This is the second recall of this product this year.  As someone that has a child with a peanut allergy – this concerns me greatly and for now on we will make sure our own child has at least one EpiPen until we see a full year of no recalls of this product.  You should consult with your doctor if you should still be using Allerject for the future.  This is a personal decision.

At camp we still use EpiPens because until we see a new product out with no issues for quite some time we feel its the safest approach.  No doubt they will improve this product as it is so convenient but for now we will be taking a cautious approach.

 

Mark Diamond

Camp Director