Start thinking about school immunizations

Is your child up to date with school shots for his/her grade this upcoming school year?

Starting school often means making sure your children are up to date on vaccines. Making sure children of all ages receive all their vaccinations on time is one of the most important things you do as a parent to ensure your children’s long-term health, as well as the health of friends, classmates and others in your community.

Parents who choose not to vaccinate their children increase the risk of disease not only for their own children, but also for other children and adults throughout the community.

Summer is an excellent time to have children visit their health care provider for an exam and to provide needed vaccines required for school. While the kids are out of school, it is much easier to arrange appointments and avoid the rush before classes start in the fall.

To keep children in schools healthy, Wisconsin requires children to be vaccinated against certain diseases, such as pertussis or whooping cough. Outbreaks of whooping cough at middle and high schools can occur as protection from childhood vaccines fades. Those who are vaccinated against whooping cough but still get the disease are much more likely to have a mild illness compared to those who never received the vaccine. One dose of Tdap vaccine is required for students in grades 6-12. The Immunization Law in Wisconsin was passed to protect all children from vaccine preventable diseases.

The Wisconsin School Immunization Law requires the following:

Pre-K (2 to 4 years old): 4 DTP/DTaP/DT, 3 Polio, 3 Hep B, 1 MMR, 1 MMR;

Kindergarten through fifth grade: 4 DTP/DTaP/DT/Td, 4 Polio, 3 Hep B, 2 MMR, 2 Varicella; and

Sixth through 12th grade: 4 DTP/DTaP/DT/ Td, 1Tdap, 4 Polio, 3 Hep B, 2 MMR, 2 Varicella.

Where can you take a child to get vaccines/ shots for school? Most insurance policies cover well child exams and vaccines.

Call your child’s health care provider, clinic and/or doctor if your child has health insurance coverage. You may need to check with your insurance provider for covered vaccine. Other options are The Sheboygan County Division of Public Health at 920-459-3030 or 1-800-596-1919; Lakeshore Community Health Center at 920-783-6633; your own Employee Health Clinic, if available; and/ or retail pharmacies in Sheboygan County. Each place may set its own guidelines related to insurance coverage, fee for services and age groups served.

Getting every recommended dose of each vaccine provides children with the best protection possible. Bring a copy of your child’s most recent vaccines to school so the staff can update their school records. Don’t delay, update your child’s shots today.

For more about School Immunization Law requirements, visit: dhs.wisconsin.gov/ immunization/reqs.htm.
To check an immunization record, visit dhfswir .org. For additional vaccine information, visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines.

—Liz Abler, RN Public Health Nurse, and Miva Yang, RN Public Health Nurse, are members of the Sheboygan County Immunization Coalition.