Schools

Is Your Child Current on Vaccinations? School Starts in Three Weeks

Exemptions for vaccines are granted for medical and conscientious reasons.

The first day of school in most Lake Minnetonka districts is Tuesday, Sept. 3. By then, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) asks that students have the required vaccinations.

For young children, some of these vaccines include the MMR, and pertussis (DTaP) vaccines. The MDH offers immunization schedules on its website.

Most students in Minnesota are fully vaccinated when they start kindergarten, according to a MDH news release: "In 2012-13, 96.1 percent of all kindergarteners had received all of the immunizations required by Minnesota's school immunization law to protect them against vaccine-preventable diseases."

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That number has remained steady since 1995. 

MDH highlights the increase in pertussis (whooping cough) as one reason why children should continue to be vaccinated. High vaccination rates can help prevent the spread of disease.

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"It's very reassuring to see that Minnesota has been able to maintain a high vaccination rate for our kindergarteners," Karen Ernst, co-founder of the Minnesota Childhood Immunization Coalition is quoted in the release. "I think it's important for parents out there to know that vaccinating your child is the norm. Parents who choose not to vaccinate are relying on the rest of us to protect their child and are leaving their child susceptible to disease."

Exemptions for vaccines are granted for medical and conscientious reasons. 

For copies of your child's vaccination records, talk to your doctor or call the Minnesota Immunization Information Connection (MIIC) at 651-201-5503 or 1-800-657-3970. 


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