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New Program Gives Students Vaccinations at School
Filed under: In The News
Henry Middle School student Jorge Aldana winces as Denver Health clinical project manager RN Kelly Busch gives him a shot. Credit: Joe Amon, The Denver Post
First it was homework, then it was tests and now it's shots. Just one more reasons kids might ask to stay home.In an effort to raise childhood immunization numbers, the federal government set up a vaccination program in elementary and middle public schools, expected to reach 4,000 school children, according to The Denver Post. Experts say it is the "first school-located program in the country to offer vaccines to all students, regardless of socioeconomic status," the paper reports.
The Denver Public Schools Web site states it serves more than 78,000 students.
Dr. Judith Shaley, the principal investigator for the study and a family physician, told the Post that "as recently as 2003, Colorado ranked 50th in the nation for childhood immunizations."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most Colorado kids were current on some vaccines, but less than one-third had received inoculations against meningococcal meningitis, the Post reports.
Besides receiving the and meningococcal meningitis, H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines, which are not required, students at Henry Middle School have received vaccinations for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.
One reason for low numbers, the article mentions, is that by the time students reach middle-school age, they are less likely to visit a physician "who might recommend they receive inoculation." The program bills health insurance directly and there is no need for parents to take time off from work for doctors' visits, the Post reports.
The CDC has funded the program with two grants that total $1.6 million, according to the Post.
Related: The Truth About Vaccines
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
2-03-2010 @ 3:24PM
cammlynn said...I want to know if the parents gave permission for these vaccinations to be given. Since Obama is taking us in the direction of letting Planned Parenthood set up 'community clinics' in schools and many states don't have parental notification laws - who is making the health choices for these minors?
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2-03-2010 @ 8:42PM
justanotherjen said...This doesn't sound like a "new" thing. My dad talks all the time about how he got all his shots at school in the 50s. And the polio vaccine was not optional. They lined all the kids up in the basement of the school and everyone got the shot in one day. There were no permission slips. It just happened.
As long as this is an optional program and they don't force parents I don't see a problem. My kids are rarely sick so I never think to take them to the doctor so they miss "well" check ups and shots all the time. I'm pretty sure they are all current on the main shots they need to get into school. Not so sure if any are in need of booster shots yet and I refuse to do flu shots of any kind. I've been a mother for almost 10 years and have 4 kids. They have never had the flu shot and we've had one case of the flu between them in 9 1/2 years (and that was over Halloween in my 8yo son and he was over it in 3 or 4 days and treated at home with OTC medication).
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