As much as we would like to deny it, the end of summer is fast approaching and that means school will soon be starting. We want to remind you to include a review of your child's immunization record in your preparation for school. There have been some changes in the Wisconsin immunization requirements for the coming school year and your child may need some booster shots.
The first change is that a second dose of varicella vaccine for chicken pox is now required for five year old kindergarten, sixth grade, and twelfth grade. As children in the other grades move on, they, too, will be required to have the second dose. This change resulted from "breakthrough" cases of chicken pox that have occurred after immunization. A similar situation occurred with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) immunization in the past and now two MMR doses are required by the time a child enters kindergarten. Of course, if your child has ever had chicken pox disease, no vaccination is needed because there is natural immunity.![]()
A second change to the immunization requirements involves a relatively new vaccine called Tdap. This is a combination of the regular tetanus/diptheria vaccine and acellular pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine. You may recall the recent pertussis outbreaks in the last year or two that resulted from waning immunity in adolescents and young adults. Unfortunately, pertussis is an infection that does not result in permanent immunity and it was decided that additional immunizations are needed. A single dose of Tdap is required for students in the sixth, ninth, and twelfth grades. However, if your child has had a tetanus (Td) booster shot (without the pertussis) in the last five years, Tdap is not required at this time.
It is also recommended that adults get one dose of Tdap, especially if they have close contact with infants. Pertussis can be dangerous for the very young and the elderly. If you have contact with an infant, you can get a Tdap shot as early as two years after a tetanus booster. Normally, a tetanus booster is recommended every ten years unless there is an injury after five years.
You can get any needed immunizations at one of the three monthly North Shore Health Department clinics (call 371-2980 for clinic information or if you have questions) or you can call your family doctor. Just please make sure your children are properly immunized. Even though the number of cases of many diseases has been drastically reduced since the development of vaccines, these diseases are still "out there" and can result in serious complications.
Visit these websites for more information (the CDC website has some very good links):
http://cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/basic/parents.htm http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/immunization/pdf/parent_fs.pdf
http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/immunization/pdf/PPH4021_02_08.pdf
