Also in this issue: No Mower Injuries Outdoor Activity is Healthy for Asthma Patients A Checklist to Help Spot Hearing Loss ADD Symptoms Could Mean a Sleep Disorder Anemia Has Many Forms NEWSLETTER HOME PAGE		New School Vaccine Requirements in Texas Most changes affect kindergartners through seventh-graders Immunizing your child against contagious diseases may be the single most important action you can take before the new school year. And this year Texas has several new immunization requirements. Texas kindergartners must have had two doses of hepatitis A vaccine prior to the first day of school under the new requirements. These begin Aug. 1 for the 2009-2010 school year. “Immunizations are critical to reducing the incidence of preventable infectious diseases such as whooping cough and meningococcal disease,” said Dr. Jane Siegel, a pediatric infectious diseases expert at Children’s and professor of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern. “Parents should make every effort to get their children vaccinated with a full and age-appropriate immunization profile before the start of the school year. Vaccines protect the healthy children who receive them as well as contacts who are unable to take the vaccines due to underlying medical conditions or who do not respond well to vaccines.” The changes were made to make Texas immunization schedules match more closely those of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Most of the changes affect kindergartners through seventh-graders. However, requirements will be phased in for other age groups during the next few years. While some school entry requirements (such as the second dose of varicella vaccine) apply to specific age groups to allow a gradual phase-in, doctors will give the second dose to their patients according to CDC recommendations. Other school-year immunization requirements for 2009-2010 are: MMR vaccine: Kindergartners must have had two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine. Students in grades 1 through 12 must have had two doses of a measles-containing vaccine and one dose each of mumps and rubella vaccine. Varicella vaccine: Kindergartners and seventh-graders must have had two doses of the vaccine for chicken pox (varicella). Students in grades 1-6 and 8-12 must have had one dose of chicken pox vaccine. TDaP vaccine: Seventh-graders must have had one dose of the Tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine. If it has been five years since their last tetanus shot, they must get a booster dose of TDaP. Students in grades 8-12 need a booster shot if it has been 10 years since their last tetanus shot. Meningococcal vaccine: Seventh-graders must have had one dose of the vaccine. A full list of school-age immunization requirements is available from the Texas Department of State Health Services. Information on immunizations required of pre-schoolers and those children attending day care centers is also available from the Texas state health site. Last reviewed: July 2009		Find a Doctor Find a Speciality & Service Support Children's About Children's childrens.com
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