LiveSmart: Back to School Means Up-to-Date Vaccinations for Kids

[This article was written by Mark Osborn, M.D., Chief of Pediatrics for St. Peter’s Hospital, and a provider with St. Peter’s Health Center for Children.]

With local school districts planning for kids to return for in-person instruction this fall, many parents have starting making their back-to-school lists. And at the top of that checklist should be “required immunizations.”

Whether your child is learning in-person, remotely, or even a combination of the two, New York state law requires all students entering school grades kindergarten through 12 to be vaccinated, or to have a valid medical waiver, for the following:

• Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis Booster (DTap for kindergartners, TdaP when the child turns 10)
• Polio (IPV or OPV)
• Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR)
• Hepatitis A and B
• Varicella (Chickenpox)
• Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib)
• Pneumococcal (Prevnar)

The standard meningitis vaccine is recommended for children at age 11, with a second meningitis vaccine at the age of 16. An additional dose of MenB meningococcal vaccine is recommended at age 16, as that strain is more prevalent in college outbreaks and residential settings, such as U.S. basic military training centers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also recommends:

• Children get the HPV vaccine to protect against the human papillomavirus. The latest data allows children to begin receiving the vaccine as early as age nine, with two doses providing the necessary protection under age 15. Three doses will be necessary if the child begins receiving the vaccine after the age of 15.
• COVID-19 vaccination for all children and adolescents 12 years of age and older who do not have contraindications.

It is important to remember:

• Vaccines are safer and more effective today than ever before. One reason is the naturally occurring additives that help sterilize vaccine fluids.
• While children today are getting more vaccinations than in the past, the overall amount of immunologic agents in these vaccines is smaller. Two shots given to children in 1980 had more immunologic agents than the antigens in the entire childhood vaccination series given today.
• Delaying vaccinations — or spreading them out over time — increases the risk of exposing your child to a serious and possibly life-altering illness.
• Vaccines don’t weaken the immune system; they boost it.

Parents should discuss vaccine updates with their child’s pediatrician at every annual well child visit, as the recommendations from the AAP change annually. More information about the need to keep children on schedule for routine vaccinations is at www.aap.org/immunization.

St. Peter’s Health Center for Children, 1092 Madison Avenue in Albany, offers a complete range of services for children from newborns to age 18. Services include well-child routine care, sick child exams, school and camp physicals, sports physicals, immunizations, health maintenance and education, and access to other hospital services and referrals to specialists. Call 518-525-2445 for more information or an appointment.