Health Dept. offers extended Monday hours for vaccinations

Friday, August 8, 2014

It's back-to-school time and that means it's school vaccine season as well.

In an effort to help meet the needs of local parents and children requiring back-to-school immunizations, the Putnam County Health Department will offer extended hours, beginning Monday, Aug. 11.

The extended hours will be in effect on Mondays only through Oct. 6 to assist residents in completing children's school vaccination requirements, Putnam County Health Nurse Stephanie Alcorn has announced.

In addition to regular hours on these days, the Putnam County Health Department will be available by appointment only from 4-8 p.m.

The Putnam County Health Department is located within the Putnam County Hospital (Suite 1500) at 1542 S. Bloomington St., Greencastle. For an appointment, persons may call 658-2782.

For the 2014-15 school year, all students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade will be required to have a record documenting two valid doses of varicella (chickenpox) vaccine or documented history of chickenpox disease. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade will need to have their history of chickenpox disease documented by a health care provider.

New requirements this school year include two doses of Hepatitis A vaccine for kindergarten entry and a meningococcal booster dose for students entering grade 12. The meningococcal booster dose is not required for students entering grade 12 who received dose No. 1 on or after their 16th birthday.

The health department is able to provide vaccines free of charge to children under 19 years who meet the following requirements: Medicaid, no insurance or who have an insurance that does not provide coverage for vaccines.

With the new school year quickly approaching, state health officials want Indiana parents to be aware of new immunization requirements for school entry.

Although not required for school entry, it is recommended that students also receive the following immunizations if they haven't already:

--Flu vaccine every year

--Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine, three-dose series for all adolescents

The requirements and recommendations are in alignment with the routine vaccination schedules from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). For complete listing of all recommended immunizations, persons can visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/easy-to-read/index.html.

Parents can get immunization records from their health care provider or use the secure website, MyVaxIndiana.in.gov, to print their child's official immunization record from home by using a personal identification number (PIN). To obtain your child's PIN, please call the Putnam County Health Department.

Indiana school immunization requirements are posted on the Indiana State Department of Health website at www.state.in.us/isdh/17094.htm.

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  • It's nice of them to extend hours after all the schools are back in session. Aren't immunizations required PRIOR to starting school? It kind of defeats the purpose otherwise.

    -- Posted by jorge on Sun, Aug 10, 2014, at 8:41 AM
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