New Immunization Requirements for 2009-2010 School Year
By Jeanette Holding, R.N.
On March 5, 2009, the Executive Commissioner on Health & Human Services approved several revisions to the "Immunization Requirements for Children and Students in Texas Public and Private Schools".
The changes to the requirements were made in order to update the Texas elementary and secondary school immunization requirements so that they adhere more closely to the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The changes include:
Hepatitis A Vaccine: Beginning August 1, 2009, all students entering kindergarten, statewide, will be required to have two doses of Hepatitis A vaccine.
Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) Vaccine: Beginning August 1, 2009, all students entering kindergarten will be required to have two doses of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Varicella Vaccine: Beginning on August 1, 2009, all students entering kindergarten and 7th grade will be required to have two doses of varicella vaccine. A written statement from a parent (or legal guardian or managing conservator), a school nurse, or physician attesting to a child's positive history of varicella disease (chickenpox), or of varicella immunity, is acceptable in lieu of either dose of varicella vaccine.
Tetanus, Diptheria, and acellullar pertussis-containing Vaccine (Tdap): Beginning August 1, 2009, all students entering the seventh grade will be required to have one dose of Tdap vaccine. Students in the seventh grade will be required to have a booster dose of Tdap only if it has been five years since their last dose of a tetanus-containing vaccine. Students in grades 8-12 are required to have a booster dose of Tdap if it has been ten years since their previous dose of a tetanus-containing vaccine. Td is acceptable in lieu of Tdap if a contradiction to pertussis exists.
Meningococcal Vaccine: Beginning August 1, ,2009, all students entering the seventh grade will be required to have one dose of the meningococcal vaccine.
Written notices will be sent home with the current sixth graders at HJH as well as to incoming kindergarten students. If you have any questions you can contact your family physician.
