New School Immunization Requirements Announced

Montgomery County health officials announced that new school immunization requirements will take effect for the 2014-2015 school year for students entering kindergarten and seventh grade. The new requirements, in place throughout the State of Maryland, require students entering kindergarten to have two varicella vaccinations and students entering seventh grade will be required to have one Tdap (Tetanus-diphtheria-attenuated pertussis) and one meningococcal (MCV4) vaccination before beginning seventh grade.

School health staff is currently reviewing student health records and parents of current six grade students received a letter recently advising them of the new requirements. Students who do not show proof of the required immunizations will be excluded from attending school at the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year.

“Immunizations are an important part of keeping people of all ages healthy,” said County Health Officer Dr. Ulder J. Tillman. “Immunizations should begin at birth and continue throughout a person’s life. By staying current with immunizations, we can protect our families, ourselves and our community.”

Parents should contact their doctor to make sure their child is properly immunized and submit a copy of the documentation to the child’s school health nurse as soon as possible, but no later than Monday, August 25, the first day of the 2014-2015 school year.

Free Tdap and MCV4 immunizations will be offered to incoming seventh grade students on Friday, June 13 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the following schools:

• Col. E. Brooke Lee Middle School
  11800 Monticello Avenue
  Silver Spring, MD 20902
• Julius West Middle School
  651 Great Falls Road
  Rockville, MD 20850
• Rocky Hill Middle School
  22401 Brick Haven Way
  Clarksburg, MD 20871

An additional vaccination clinic will also be held on Saturday, August 23 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Montgomery County Public Schools’ Carver Educational Center, located at 850 Hungerford Drive in Rockville.

Appointments are required and can be made online here. A parent or designated adult must be present with a parent-signed consent form at the time of vaccination.

For more information on immunizations, call the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services’ Immunization Program at 240.777.1050 or School Health Services at 240.777.1550. For specific information, parents may contact their child’s school health nurse.

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