- Parents Urged to Vaccinate Children as School Openings Loom
Parents Urged to Vaccinate Children as School Openings Loom
The Washington Informer
By Dorothy Rowley
August 18, 2014
With public schools in D.C. and Prince George's County set to open next week, health officials are reminding parents to ensure their children are properly vaccinated.
"Vaccines are safe and effective, and overall, when parents are not educated about the benefits of the vaccines it may be due to a little bit of fear," said Najma Roberts, spokeswoman for the D.C. Department of Health. "However, we want to make sure that all of our 11- and 12-year-olds — those entering middle school — especially are vaccinated against HPV (Human papillomavirus)."
Students attending District public schools — where requirements for meningitis and tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis, or Tdap, vaccines have changed in recent years — are leading the way in the region for immunizations.
Nancy Ejuma, immunization program director for the District's health department, said the vaccinations are particularly important considering the city "has visitors from all over the world."
"This makes us susceptible to many more kinds of diseases, and when we ensure that the vast amount of our population is vaccinated we don't have additional people in the community who could become carriers and then spread the diseases to others," Ejuma said.
In Prince George's County, kindergarteners will need two doses of the chicken pox vaccine instead of one. Also, students entering the 7th grade are required to get both a meningitis and Tdap shots.
Rosie McLaren, a District-based program manager for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, added that people tend to forget that diseases are around "because they don't see cases in front of them."
Ejuma stressed the importance of receiving necessary vaccinations, particularly for the sake of those who can't be vaccinated — such as pregnant women — and individuals whose immune systems have been compromised.
"There are a number of people within the population who cannot be vaccinated because they're not old enough to receive a certain vaccine," she said. "So the more people we have in the community who are vaccinated, the less chances [of spreadable diseases] among residents."