As the summer season wanes and families start their Back-to-School shopping and preparations, it’s important to remember that immunizing your children is not only the best way to send them to class healthy, but it’s also required.
School children in Massachusetts, from kindergarten and grade school to college are required to have vaccinations for DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, or whooping cough), Polio, MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella or German Measles), Hepatitis B, and Varicella. In addition, students entering grades 7 and 11 must be vaccinated for meningococcal conjugate with what’s called the MenACWY vaccine.
“From early age it’s extremely important for children to receive vaccinations to help prevent a wide range of illnesses,” said Dr. Adam Gicewicz, Division Chief of Pediatrics at Berkshire Health Systems and a physician with Berkshire Health Pediatrics. “These vaccines not only protect the individual student, but those around them. Recent national outbreaks of Measles and other highly preventable diseases just reinforce the need for vaccinating your child.”
While the vaccines cited earlier are required in Massachusetts for entry to schools, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health also recommend more routine vaccinations to help prevent Influenza, HPV (Human papillomavirus), COVID-19, and RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). The flu, COVID and RSV are highly contagious, and vaccination can prevent these illnesses or significantly reduce their severity, avoiding hospitalization.
The Department of Public Health outlines the requirements for students starting school or heading back to school on its website. According to the MA DPH, “Vaccines are one of the great public health advances of the 20th century and prevent hundreds of thousands of illnesses in the US every year.”
If your child is behind on vaccinations, make an appointment with your Pediatrician to get them up to date. Help protect not only your own family, but your neighbors, friends and our community.
This information is provided as a service of Berkshire Health Systems and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent conditions or offer any medical advice.