Health Department reminds parents to get their students vaccinated

Health Department reminds parents to get their students vaccinated

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The Wyoming Department of Health encourages parents to remember important vaccinations for their children along with lunches, notebooks and backpacks as students begin a new school year.

“Children have returned to schools, where they are in close contact with each other all day. It doesn’t take much to spread illness,” said Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer and state epidemiologist with WDH. “We are thankful to have vaccines to help protect our kids from many life-threatening diseases, such as measles and whooping cough.”

Some vaccines are required for attendance at public and private schools and child care facilities in Wyoming. Kindergartners should be up-to-date on DTaP, MMR, hepatitis B, polio and varicella vaccinations. Children who are 11 through 12 years old should receive a Tdap vaccination. Depending on individual school rules, children who have not completed their required vaccinations may be put on conditional enrollment or be excluded from school.

“We encourage parents to keep their children up-to-date on required immunizations, as well as others we recommend such as for flu, HPV, meningococcal, hepatitis A and COVID-19,” Harrist said. “These are all great tools to help keep Wyoming kids healthy.”

Harrist noted cost should not be a barrier to vaccinations for Wyoming’s children.

“For children with health insurance, vaccination costs are covered by most policies,” she said. “In addition, more than 100 Wyoming providers offer low-cost vaccines for qualifying children who may need help paying for vaccinations through the Vaccines for Children program.”

This story was published on August 30, 2024.