Before parents send their children back to school, families should remember that proof of immunizations is a crucial part of the process.
Without vaccinations, registration can get stalled.
In Indiana, students ranging from 3-year-olds up to high school seniors must show doses, and various vaccines vary.
For example, kindergarten students must be vaccinated against polio; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis A; varicella; diphtheria, tetanus and perttusis (DTaP); and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). Statewide, at least 89 percent of kindergarten students are vaccinated for all with the highest number, 94.5 percent, receiving DTaP shots.
Laws regarding school vaccinations vary among the states. For example, most states have similar vaccination requirements for public and private school students.
Indiana's law is not so clear when it comes to private school requirements. Indiana also allows exemptions based on medical or religious reasons, amounting to about 700 students a year.
But even if Indiana's laws aren't as stringent as others, parents should still consider immunizations important.
Many common childhood diseases are preventable. Vaccinations not only cut down on diseases but save lives. Vaccines generally contain the same antigens that cause diseases. The measles vaccine contains the measles virus.
But the antigens in vaccines are either killed, or weakened to the point that they don’t cause disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider vaccines to be a safer substitute for a child's exposure to disease.
Immunizations are typically obtained through a family's private physician, a local health department, hospital, pharmacy, medical express facility or public health center. Most ask that a record of previous shots be presented, too.
Information including grade-by-grade requirements can readily be found at most school district websites or at the Indiana Department of Health site at http://www.in.gov/isdh/17094.htm.