School shots due by next Wednesday

The Sandy Post, Feb 9, 2010, Updated Feb 9, 2010

Starting Wednesday, Feb. 17, children with missing immunizations will not be able to go to school or child care. State law requires that all children in private and public schools, preschools, Head Start and certified child care facilities must be up-to-date on immunizations or have a religious or medical exemption.

“The goal is to make sure children are fully protected against vaccine-preventable diseases. If school and child-care shot records are not up-to-date, the child will be sent home,” said Lorraine Duncan, immunization manager in the Oregon Department of Human Services Public Health Division.

If a child’s immunization record shows that he or she has not received the required immunizations, parents or guardians will be sent a letter. Last year, local health departments sent 36,784 letters to parents and guardians informing them their children needed immunizations to stay in school. A total of 4,667 children were kept out of school or child care until the necessary immunization information was turned in. Most children who are excluded miss one or fewer days of school before turning in up-to-date records.

Many parents receive exclusion letters because their children’s school or day care records are not updated, even though they may have all their shots. School and child care staff may use Oregon Immunization ALERT, the statewide registry, to keep records current. However, parents are responsible for ensuring the school or day care has the required information. Public health officials advise parents to update their children’s immunization record after every shot.

Parents seeking immunizations for their children should contact their health care provider or local health department, or call Oregon SafeNet at 1-800-SAFENET or 1-800-723-3638. No one can be turned away from a local health department because of the inability to pay for required vaccines. Contributions toward administration costs are always welcome. Additional information on school immunizations can be found at www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/imm/school.

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