Additional vaccines required for schoolchildren

School may have just let out, but parents who would like to avoid long waits at the doctor’s office may want to start thinking now about the vaccines their children will need to start school this fall.

The state recently added more shots to the required regimen, with the changes affecting thousands of students.

The new rules mainly affect students entering kindergarten and the seventh grade. The state made the changes so that Texas’ immunizations requirements more closely match federal recommendations, said Tiffani Johnson of the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District.

Here’s a quick look at what’s changing:

* Hepatitis A vaccine — Students entering kindergarten must have had two doses. The vaccine was not required at all before, Johnson said.

* Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine — Students entering kindergarten must have two doses. Those in first through 12th grades must have had two doses of a measles-containing vaccine and one dose each of mumps and rubella vaccine. That was the old requirement for kindergartners.

* Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine — Students entering kindergarten and seventh grade must have had two doses. Before, students only had to have one dose. The requirement for other students in grades one through 12 continues to be only one dose.

There is an exception, however, for children of any age who have had chickenpox. Their parents or guardian can provide the school with a letter stating that they have had the illness in lieu of the vaccine.

* Tetanus, diphtheria, aceullar pertussis-containing vaccine (Tdap) — Students entering seventh grade must have had one dose of Tdap. Seventh-graders will also be required to have a booster dose of Tdap if it has been five years or more since their last dose of a tetanus-containing vaccine. Those are new requirements.

Students in grades eight through 12 must have the booster dose if it has been 10 years since their last dose of a tetanus-containing vaccine.

* Meningococcal vaccine — Incoming seventh-graders must have had one dose. The vaccine was not required before.

The requirements become effective Aug. 1. Students must have the shots to enroll or attend class, according to officials at the Texas Department of State Health Services. The only exception is that for vaccines where multiple doses are required, students can be enrolled provisionally if they get the first dose and pledge to complete the series as quickly as medically feasible, they said.

The vaccines should be covered by private insurance, with the cost varying according to the terms of each family’s plan, officials said.

Families who cannot afford the immunizations or who are enrolled in government health programs can get the shots for free or at a reduced cost through the health district.

Free or low-cost shots are also available through the Family Health Center, which operates a network of local clinics.

Johnson, from the health district, advised parents not to wait until the last couple of weeks before the start of school to have their children vaccinated.

“It would be a good idea to get in as soon as possible to beat the summer rush,” she said.

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By Cindy V. Culp Tribune-Herald staff writer
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