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Vaccine Smart for School Start

Back-to-school is the furthest thing from our minds in early July, but before we know it school supply lists, registration information, and health forms will be headed our way. Use the summer months to be proactive in getting or keeping your children up-to-date on their recommended vaccinations. Did you know, schools risk a fine of $2,000 per day per child from the NYS Education Department for allowing students to attend without proof of certain vaccinations? If your child is not vaccinated according to the guidelines approved by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, they will not be allowed to attend school – and after a long summer of “I’m bored” and “Can I have a snack?” that will be the last thing you want! With us this month is Roberta Fredenburg, Supervising Public Health Nurse in the Health Care Services Division at CCHD. Roberta has been a nurse for 40 years working with all age groups. She has experienced back-to-school vaccination requirements as a mom, grandmother, and a public health nurse.

Roberta, let’s start at the beginning. How exactly does a vaccine work and how do I know it’s safe?

Vaccines work by triggering our immune system to recognize and fight off specific pathogens, or ‘bugs’, (think viruses or bacteria) without actually causing the disease. The vaccine has small, inactivated pieces of the ‘bug’ that tell our immune system that these ‘bugs’ are bad and makes ‘army cells’ to fight them. Our body remembers which ‘army cells’ fight which ‘bugs’ and the next time your body sees one, it knows which ‘army’ to send to fight it.

All vaccines must go through many tests and clinical trials before they are approved for use. There can be some incidental side effects, like redness and soreness at the injection site that can be uncomfortable, but they typically aren’t dangerous. Serious side effects are extremely rare. 

Vaccines help to significantly reduce the risk of infection, disease, hospitalization and death. They also help to decrease the spread of vaccine preventable diseases.

Speaking of vaccine preventable diseases, how many diseases or illnesses can we prevent with vaccinations?

There are more than 20 serious infectious diseases that vaccines have helped to protect us against:

Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR); polio; diptheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP/Tdap); hepatitis A and B; human papillomavirus (HPV); influenza; COVID-19; pneumococcal; meningococcal; varicella (or chickenpox); shingles; Haemphilus influenzae type b (Hib); and rotavirus.  And that’s not including other globally used vaccines!

And which ones do my kids need for school?

The NYS school requirement differs by age and grade. But generally speaking, DTaP/Tdap, polio, MMR, hepatitis B, varicella, meningococcal, Hib, and pneumococcal are required for inclusion in schools – depending on the student’s age/grade. To see the full schedule, and age requirement, see the graphic below or click here.

Why is it important for school-aged children to be vaccinated?

Children in school are often in space limiting classrooms and in close proximity to one another. This proximity enables germs to spread easily from one child to another. We have all seen first hand how quickly an illness can spread through the classroom, then through our household. While we can’t prevent every illness from coming home with our kids, we can stop the vaccine-preventable ones in their tracks.

It is also important to be vaccinated to protect those in our families and communities that do not have strong immune systems. Newborns, young children, the elderly, and those with other illnesses are more susceptible to germs and sometimes cannot be vaccinated themselves. The higher our vaccination rates are, the less the chance others will become ill with a vaccine-preventable disease.

How do I know if my child is up-to-date? And what do I do if they are not?

The easiest way to determine if your child is up-to-date on all their vaccines is to contact their pediatrician. You can also contact us at CCHD and ask to have your child’s vaccine record evaluated or reviewed on the NYS Immunization Information System.  

If your child is missing a vaccine, or due for a booster, contact your pediatrician. Do this now to get them scheduled as the appointments fill up fast. Do not wait until the last week of summer! If you are having trouble locating your records, or getting in to your provider in a timely manner, give us a call at 518-565-4848.

Top 3 things to remember.

  1. NYS requires students be vaccinated for inclusion in schools.
  2. Be prepared and proactive. Schedule vaccines and boosters now!
  3. The more people that are vaccinated, the safer our community.



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