School Vaccination Requirements Changing This Year (2009-10)           Back

   With the warm summer weather finally here, most parents and children don’t want to think about back-to-school vaccinations.  But waiting until September to get your children up to date on their shots can leave you in a long line at the doctor’s office.

   It may also put your child at risk of being forced to stay out of school if there is a disease outbreak that they haven’t been vaccinated for.   Washington state requires that children who haven’t received an appropriate vaccine; for example, measles during a measles outbreak, stay out of school, preschool, and daycare for a set period of time, depending on the disease.  Please call your primary health care provider to verify that your child is up to date on their immunizations.

   Requirements for school vaccinations have changed slightly since last year.  Minimum required immunizations for the 2009-10 school year are as follows:

Kindergarten

• Four doses of the DTaP vaccine with the last dose on or after the fourth birthday.
• Three doses of polio vaccine with the last dose on or after the fourth birthday
• Three doses of hepatitis B vaccine
• Two doses measles, mumps & rubella vaccine (MMR)
• Two doses chickenpox vaccine or medical provider verification of the disease, or a blood test showing immunity to chicken pox.  This is a new requirement this year.

First grade

• One dose of chicken pox vaccine or a history of the disease. Parental report is adequate at this grade level.
• Three doses of DTaP vaccine with the last dose on or after the fourth birthday.
• Polio, MMR and hepatitis B requirements as above for kindergarten

Sixth grade

• One dose of chickenpox vaccine or a history of the disease. Parental report is adequate at this grade level
• One dose of Tdap if it has been at least 5 years since the last tetanus containing vaccine.
• Polio, MMR and hepatitis B requirements as above for kindergarten

Other students

All other students, including high school, should have had a minimum of:

• Three doses of DTap, DTP, Td or Tdap
• Three doses of polio
• Two doses of MMR
• Three doses of hepatitis B vaccine

  These requirements are the minimum that school children should have. Children may have more doses of some vaccines than are listed.  Please check with your health care provider to see if your children are up to date.

   All teens who have not had a tetanus containing vaccine in the past five years are strongly encouraged to get the Tdap vaccine, which contains vaccine against pertussis or whooping cough.  The hepatitis B vaccine is not required for high school seniors, but the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) strongly recommends that they be immunized against this potentially cancer-causing disease.

   Island County Public Health has walk-in vaccination clinics (These clinics do not bill Insurance.)

       Oak Harbor: every Monday from 1– 4 pm 
       Langley: the 1^st and 3^rd Tuesdays of the month from 1– 4 pm
       Camano Island: every Monday from 1– 4 pm.

   You may also call your medical provider to ask about getting school immunizations by appointment.

ICPH