Schools

Make sure your kids have their shots

By MICHELE MILLER, Times Staff Writer
Published August 7, 2007

If you haven't already, now's the time to take care of those immunizations - an essential requirement for students entering school for the first time and also for those entering seventh-grade.

And while studies show that most preteens and teenagers see the doctor mostly when they are ill, parents might want to get them in for a checkup to at least discuss some of the recent immunization recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control.

That's the advice of the National Association of School Nurses. The association recently launched a publicity campaign to help make parents aware of recommended (but not required) adolescent immunizations - particularly a booster shot to prevent against whooping cough/pertussis.

In 2005, some 25,000 cases of pertussis were reported nationwide to the CDC, with more than 30 percent of those diagnosed being between ages 10 to 19.

"We believe this is because their vaccinations have worn out, but also because in the school setting children are clustered together," said Amy Garcia, the nursing association's executive director.

In Florida, there were 208 cases of pertussis reported in 2005. Pasco County has had no confirmed cases of whooping cough this year, according to Deanna Krautner, senior health educator and spokeswoman for the Pasco County Health Department.

Still, some cases could go undiagnosed, said Garcia.

"A big factor is how it (whooping cough) is detected. The whooping sound is not present in adolescents or adults. What will happen, what you'll see, is a hundred-day cough - severe coughing fits that last an average of 100 days. And if the health care provider is not looking for pertussis, it might be diagnosed as something else -allergies or asthma."

Pertussis is highly contagious and can be fatal in infants or those who are considered high-risk, said Garcia.

"The big problem for adolescents," she said, "is that they miss a week or two of school."

IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS

The immunization record must show that the student has met the minimum state requirements:

Pre-kindergarten

Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine or date of disease (year) as verified by parent or physician

Hepatitis B (HBV) series

Hib

Up to date for age for DTaP (diphtheria, pertussis, acellular tetanus), polio, and MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)

Kindergarten and grades 1 to 6

5 doses DTaP or DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus)

4 doses polio vaccine (IPV, OPV)

2 doses MMR

Hepatitis B series (HBV) - given over a six-month period

Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine or date of disease (year) as verified by parent or physician (only required for grades K to 5)

Grades 7 to 12

5 doses DTP or DTaP

4 doses polio vaccine (IPV, OPV)

2 doses MMR

Hepatitis B series (HBV) - given over a six-month period

1 dose Td (tetanus, diphtheria)

IMMUNIZATION WAIVERS

Students who have previously attended school in Florida are granted a 30-day period for their previous records to arrive. Schools will have them complete a "30-day waiver" form. The parent or guardian must sign a statement agreeing that when the records from the other school arrive, if the information is incomplete, they will get the needed immunizations for their child.

Note: 30-day waivers are not applicable for first-time enrollees (i.e. kindergarten or prekindergarten) or Grade 7.

Homeless students are the only exception to this rule. Florida Statutes gives homeless students a 30-day grace period to comply.

Physicals

A physical exam report completed within the past year is required before enrollment for any student who has never attended school in Florida in the past, i.e. kindergarten and out-of-state transfers. Homeless students are the only exception to this rule. Florida Statute gives homeless students a 30-day grace period to comply. The exam:

- Verifies the child is free of communicable diseases.

- May be completed by any licensed physician: M.D., D.O., P.A., A.R.N.P, chiropractor

- Must be within one calendar year prior to enrollment (first day of attendance in school).

- May be from any state in the United States.

Source: Pasco County school district

[Last modified August 7, 2007, 07:12:24]