Parents Urged to Make Certain Their Children Are Up to
Date on Immunizations Prior to Attending School
Aug.18, 2008 - DENVER - Colorado Department of Public
Health and Environment officials Wednesday reminded parents
and guardians to make certain their children have had all
the immunizations required for their age group before they
are enrolled in preschool or school. In January 2007, the
department’s Board of Health approved three additional
vaccine requirements for children in child care and school
settings. The three vaccines are for pneumococcal disease, a
second dose for chickenpox, and for tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis
(Tdap) - which is different from the already required DTaP
(diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis). Joni Reynolds, program
manager for the Colorado Immunization Program at the
department said, “Pertussis, also called whooping cough, is
a highly contagious cough illness that can easily be spread
from one child to another. It is critical we protect infants
from pertussis. Many infected adolescents and adults may be
the primary carriers of this disease to infants and other
children, where the illness is much more serious, even life
threatening. “The Tdap vaccine provides good protection
against pertussis and can help reduce the spread of this
disease,” added Reynolds. “Teens need a booster dose of
pertussis vaccine (Tdap) to provide protection against
whooping cough. Young children also receive pertussis
vaccine (DTaP) but the protection begins to wane over time
and most teens are now susceptible to pertussis. This new
vaccine will boost their antibodies and provide new
protection for the teens.” Gov. Bill Ritter’s
administration has made it a priority of his administration
to increase the rate of childhood immunizations in Colorado.
Immunizations are one of the best ways for parents to
protect their children and the population at large from many
serious childhood illnesses and diseases. The goal is having
80 percent or more of the state’s children immunized by
2008.
Jim Martin, executive director of the Department of
Public Health and Environment, said, “Parents will help give
their children a healthy start to the new school year by
making certain they are up to date on their immunizations.”
He explained that immunizations prevent children from
getting serious infectious diseases, such as whooping cough
and the measles, and encouraged parents to schedule an
appointment with their health care providers to have their
children immunized. "Individuals who do not have health
insurance and who want to have their children immunized can
call the Colorado Helpline at 1-877-462-2911 to obtain a
list of public health clinics offering free and low-cost
immunizations," he said.
The Web site,
www.immunizecoloradoskids.com, provides clinic locations
and other information that parents can download and take
with them to their doctor's office. A schedule is provided
to help track a child's immunizations. The site was created
as part of Colorado's immunization marketing campaign,
"Immunize Colorado's Kids.Protect the Ones You Love."
It is recommended that Colorado children have
immunizations to protect them from these childhood diseases
by the time they enter kindergarten or first grade:
diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis or whooping cough (DTaP);
haemophilus influenzae type b (HIB); hepatitis A; hepatitis
B; influenza; measles; mumps; pneumococcal disease; polio;
rotavirus; rubella; and varicella or chickenpox.
Immunizations specified for the child's age are required
for enrollment at a child-care center, begin ning at two
months of age, in addition to being required for school
entry.
The 11 required vaccinations are described below:
- Chickenpox (varicella): The requirement for this
vaccine, which first became mandatory in Colorado on
July 1, 2000, is being gradually phased in, although
health officials recommend that the vaccine be
administered to all children and youth up to the age of
18 who have not had the disease. For the 2008-09 school
year, one dose of the varicella or chickenpox
vaccination is currently required for second through
seventh grade. With the new school entry requirement,
children entering kindergarten and first grade are
required to have a second dose of varicella or
chickenpox vaccination. Previously, if a parent or
guardian confirmed the child already had chickenpox, the
immunization would not be required. But the new
requirement for the 2008-09 school year requires the
vaccine unless there is documentation by a health care
provider that the child has had chickenpox.
- Diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis (DTaP): In general, a
total of five doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis
(whooping cough) vaccine are required for students
entering a Colorado school for the first time. Only four
doses of the vaccine are required if the fourth dose was
administered on or after the fourth birthday. Children
who are 7 years of age or older no longer receive the
DtaP vaccine. Children between 7 though 9 years of age
instead receive Td vaccine if they need to complete the
requirement for tetanus and diptheria. Children 10 years
of age or older receive the Tdap vaccine to complete the
requirement for tetanus and diphtheria and to provide
protection from pertussis.
- Hepatitis B: A total of three doses of this vaccine
are required for preschool and all grades.
- Haemophilus influenzae Type B (Hib): This vaccine is
a preschool requirement for children 4 years of age or
younger but is not required for children 5 years of age
or older. One, two or three doses of this vaccine are
required, depending on both the child's current age and
the age when the vaccine was administered.
- Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR): Two doses of this
vaccine are required for kindergarten through 12th
grades. One dose is required for preschool children.
- Polio: In general, three doses of this vaccine are
required for children in preschool. Grade school, middle
school and high school students entering a Colorado
school for the first time are required to have four
doses of this vaccine. The exception to this rule is if
a child received his or her third polio vaccine at or
after the age of 4.
- Pneumococcal disease (Prevnar/PCV7): Pneumonia is a
contagious disease that can have serious effects in
infants and young children. The vaccine, Prevnar (PCV7),
is an effective immunization administered in a series to
children to prevent pneumonia. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention recommends the routine
vaccination of preschool children with the PCV7 vaccine.
It now will be required for children in licensed
child-care through 23 months of age, and the number of
doses depends on when the vaccine was initially
administered.
- Tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis (Tdap): CDC recommends
all 11- to 12-year olds receive a dose of Tdap. In
Colorado, Tdap vaccine will be required for all incoming
sixth, seventh, tenth and eleventh graders this upcoming
school year (SY 2008-09), and in subsequent years that
schedule will incorporate other grades as well.
The Health Department advised parents and guardians
to take immunization records with them when enrolling a
child in a Colorado school for the first time. Reynolds
said that if the school determines that a child's
immunizations are incomplete, parents have only 14 days
after receiving notification from the school for their
child to receive the first recommended immunization and
to present to the school a written plan for completion
of the remaining immunizations. Reynolds added that
Colorado law permits schools to suspend students until
receiving proof that the immunization requirements have
been completed, are in process, or that a parent has
chosen to file a request for exemption. The state's
schools are to deny admittance of students who do not
present an immunization record at the beginning of
school.
Under Colorado law, parents may choose to have their
children exempted from immunization requirements for
medical, religious or personal reasons. Exemption forms,
which are required in lieu of the certificate of
immunization for those parents who choose exemption, are
on the reverse side of the state's Certificate of
Immunization and can be obtained from doctors' offices
and at schools.
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