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Kids’ vaccines should be updated before school starts [UPDATED]
Published 7:43am Tuesday, August 7, 2012 Updated 12:44pm Tuesday, August 7, 2012MINNEAPOLIS — This year, the United States is on pace to have the most cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, in five decades. There have been 18,000 reported cases this year, according to the CDC. Minnesota is one of the states reporting high numbers of the bacterial disease that is preventable by vaccines.
A group of medical and educational organizations in Minnesota are collaborating to send a simple, but extremely important message to parents: Get your children vaccinated before the school year starts.
The Children’s Physician Network, Minnesota Medical Association, Minnesota Head Start Association, Immunization Action Coalition, and the School Nurse Organization of Minnesota are working together to raise awareness as part of August’s National Immunization Awareness Month.
Minnesota child wellness experts report that an increasing number of parents are delaying or skipping immunizations for their infants and children.
While Minnesota’s school immunization laws ensure that most students are vaccinated, some parents in the state are opting out. Schools are highly susceptible to outbreaks of infectious diseases such as influenza, whooping cough, meningitis, and measles because students can easily transmit illnesses to one another as a result of poor hand washing, uncovered coughs, and dense populations in schools.
For more information, Minnesotans may call the Minnesota Department of Health at 800-657-3970 or 651-201-5503.
