May 30, 2014

New School Immunization Requirements for 2014-2015 School Year

County health officials have announced that new school immunization requirements for students entering kindergarten and seventh grade will take effect for the 2014-2015 school year. Students entering kindergarten must have two varicella vaccinations, and students entering seventh grade must have one Tdap (Tetanus-diphtheria-attenuated pertussis) and one meningococcal (MCV4) vaccination. Students who do not show proof of the required immunizations will be excluded from attending school at the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year.

School health staff are currently reviewing student health records, and parents of current sixth grade students have received letters advising them of the new requirements.  

Parents should contact their doctor to make sure their child is properly immunized, then submit a copy of the documentation to the child’s school health nurse as soon as possible, but no later than Monday, August 25, the first day of the 2014-2015 school year.

Get information on free immunizations being offered at three local schools – in Silver Spring, Rockville and Clarksburg on June 13 and another in Rockville on August 23.