Gabe Stark
Reporter

With the start of the school year approaching, the Grundy County Health Department is reminding families to make sure students have the vaccinations required for school attendance.

Health Department Administrator Elizabeth Gibson said the department provides vaccinations and information about the state schedule, but it does not establish vaccination requirements.

“We are a source of credible information about vaccination, but we don’t require any vaccination,” Gibson said. “That’s not our role.”

Gibson said the requirements are tied to school attendance and are established through Missouri’s school immunization rules. The Health Department’s immunization nurses work with families to determine which shots students still need and can administer the required vaccines.

The department sees increased demand during the summer, particularly among students preparing to enter kindergarten, eighth grade and 12th grade.

For students entering kindergarten, the Health Department lists DTaP, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis; MMR, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella; and the chickenpox vaccine.

Students entering eighth grade need Tdap, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, along with a meningitis vaccination.

Students entering 12th grade need a meningitis vaccination.

The Health Department begins working with students and families before the previous school year ends, but Gibson said the department continues administering vaccinations throughout the summer and into the final days before classes begin.

“We run right on up to the school year,” Gibson said.

In addition to providing required school vaccinations, Gibson said health department staff can answer questions about other vaccines that may be recommended even when they are not required for school attendance.

She said immunizations are part of the department’s larger emphasis on preventing illness throughout the community. While a physician’s office generally focuses on treating an individual patient, public health agencies work to reduce the spread of disease across the population.

“The health department really is focused on prevention,” Gibson said.

That work includes immunizations, communicable-disease investigations, restaurant and food inspections, health screenings and other programs intended to prevent illness and injury.

Families who are unsure whether their child is up to date on required vaccinations can contact the Grundy County Health Department for assistance before the beginning of the school year.