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Mainland
students have good shot record
Texas City Sun
Published - 08/19/04
by Laura Huchzermeyer
Mainland school
districts have had few problems with a
new state law that requires students to
have up-to-date immunization records before
being allowed into school.
Other districts across the
state have not been as well prepared.
The Associated Press reported about 6,000
children in Austin were turned away from
school on the first day of classes Tuesday
because their immunizations were not up
to date. In Dallas, hundreds of students
were not allowed in school because they
did not have their required shots.
A new Texas Department of
Health vaccination rule no longer allows
a provisional period during which students
had 30 days from the start of school to
get immunized.
Local school officials said
concentrated efforts lead by the Galveston
County Health District have helped area
children get up to date on immunizations.
On Tuesday, the Health District ended
a special three-week back-to-school immunization
clinic in La Marque, during which more
than 3,000 immunizations were given.
"As our kids came up
and if they were not ready with their
immunizations, we just sent them to health
clinic, they got immunizations and they
came right back to school without missing
a beat," said Lora-Marie Bernard,
spokeswoman for La Marque Independent
School District.
Hitchcock Superintendent
Barbara Wilson said she has not encountered
any problems with the new immunization
rule.
"We are not faced with
those issues like other larger districts
may be," Wilson said. "People
seem to know what they need to get, and
they are doing it."
Angela Alksne, spokeswoman
for Dickinson ISD, said the new rule has
not been an issue there, either. She said
the district's social worker who helps
at-risk children with a variety of health
or social problems has helped curtail
any potential problems. Alksne said the
social worker often personally takes children
to get immunized.
"That really puts us
ahead of the game," Alksne said.
"We work throughout the year to make
sure our students have the immunizations
they need."
Kurt Koopman, spokesman for
the Galveston County Health District,
said if any students still need required
immunizations, clinics in Texas City and
Galveston continue to administer them
daily.
For more information on the
clinics or to make an appointment, call
(409) 938-2234 or (281) 309-0255.
Read
the press release
For More Information
Contact:
Kurt Koopmann
Public Information Officer
Galveston County Health District
(409) 938-2211
kkoopman@gchd.org
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