JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As the new school year inches closer, some students must get their shots. The sooner you get them, the better.
It is important to remember some local county health departments have limited appointments.
There are no new required vaccines this cycle.
Florida students going into kindergarten are required to get a handful of vaccines. That includes DTaP, which can prevent diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, and MMR for measles, mumps and rubella.
There is also varicella, which is the chicken pox vaccine. Other requirements are doses against hepatitis B, polio and pneumonia.
Students heading to seventh grade need another tetanus shot called Tdap.
Dr. Jeff Goldhagen, who is a longtime pediatrician in Jacksonville, said while there are no new additions to the required vaccines list, there are several other vaccines he would recommend.
“[Examples are vaccines for] meningococcal disease, pneumococcal disease, H-flu disease,” Goldhagen said. “These are diseases that kill children and can result in serious, serious effects if children get them. [The illnesses] are completely preventable, including cancer later on in life.”
Goldhagen said parents should strongly consider the vaccine for meningococcal disease.
Teenagers and preteens are encouraged to get that vaccine, especially if they are about to go to college or enlist in the military. The disease is rare but can lead to meningitis, an infection of the brain and spinal cord that can result in blood infections.
One in seven people with meningitis die from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“If families have questions, they need to talk to their primary care doctor so the decisions they make are informed decisions, and they are acting in the best interest of their children,” said Goldhagen, who is also a professor and chief of the division or community societal pediatrics at the University of Florida.
Vaccination rates were dangerously low following the COVID-19 pandemic, but Goldhagen said they are rebounding.
“The rate for vaccines plummeted during COVID,” he said. “Now they are coming up so we anticipate hopefully that we will be back to where we were pre-COVID this year.”
Goldhagen does have a pressing message for parents.
“Ask the questions, make informed decisions and keep your children safe,” he said.
Parents can call the health departments in their respective counties if they have questions or concerns.
Children can receive the shots they need from their primary care doctor if they have one.