Schools trying to confirm parent-reported immunization records
Aug 20, 2012, 10:57 AM | Updated: Aug 21, 2012, 5:53 am
State law requires parents to fill out immunization forms, but schools are not required to check the records. (AP photo)
(AP photo)
With at least 3,484 confirmed cases of whooping cough so far this year, Washington state is seeing the virus in ten times as many children as last year.
We are not alone. The epidemic has some states upping their game when it comes to the immunizations required for kids to start school. In California, there is a new requirement this year for students to get a whooping cough vaccine heading into junior high school.
Michelle Roberts, with the Washington Health Department, says we are not seeing any changes here. The T-Dap Booster is already required for all sixth graders in Washington.
The immunization requirement for kids in every grade is the same whether they attend public or private schools. The records are checked going into kindergarten and going into sixth grade, although it is a parent-reporting system that does not have to be verified with a doctor.
“The school, they don’t verify those shots, but they do double check to make sure they’re accurate and that the shots would be given at a time when the dose was valid and it makes sense,” says Roberts.
A school nurse is required to check over the dates on every record and talk with parents if things don’t seem to match up. The state health department did a special project last year checking the forms parents turn in with medical records the state has on file.
“Despite the fact that our law just requires parent self report data and doesn’t have to be medically verified, they were very much in alignment,” Roberts says.
The Health Department found that 77 percent of the time, parent reporting matched state records.
There is a small percentage of parents who opt out of immunizations altogether. Robert says they can do so for religious, medical or philosophical reasons. In that case, the state law requires a doctor’s signature.
“The provider will talk with a parent about the risks and benefits of immunizations and make sure they’ve been given some information on that. And then [they] sign the form,” says Roberts.
