Rush of shot records awaited
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Hawai'i health officials are still waiting for thousands of seventh-graders to turn in their up-to-date shot records as part of the state's new, more stringent immunization program.
As of July 1, immunizations will be required for: • Kindergarten or students transferring into a Hawai'i school — diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox*. • Seventh-grade attendance — hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox*. For more information, or if you need to find a public health clinic that can provide the shots for free, call the Hawai'i immunization program at 586-8323, or (800) 933-4832 from the Neighbor Islands. * A documented history of chickenpox may be substituted for the vaccine requirement.
Starting next month, students entering seventh grade will be required for the first time to show proof of immunization for chickenpox, hepatitis B and measles, mumps, rubella. All kindergarten, preschool and childcare students will have to have the chickenpox vaccine for the first time.
Stricter requirements
Children will not be allowed to attend school if they have not met the requirements.
While more than 6,100 of the state's 14,000 seventh-graders have already turned in their updated shot records to schools, state health officials are wondering what has happened to the other 8,000 seventh-graders in public and private schools. Few parent phone calls have been coming into the state's vaccination program office, and public service announcements started this week to make families aware of the new requirements.
"We haven't gotten a lot of phone calls yet," said Judy Strait-Jones with the Hawai'i Immunization Program. "We think it will heat up within the next three weeks as parents take their kids to the doctor during summer break."
About 99 percent of Hawai'i children are vaccinated by the time they enter school, but experts aren't sure how many seventh-graders will need shots as a result of the new rule.
"We're thinking and hoping that the students have either gotten the vaccine or have already been exposed to chickenpox," said Lori Kanno, pharmacist with the Department of Health.
A national shortage of the varicella vaccine for chickenpox also has kept health officials wondering how many families would be able to get the shot before the start of the school year.
An interruption in manufacturing led to the shortage at the end of 2001 and a two-month wait for some doctors wanting to give the vaccine to patients.
Kanno said that wait has been reduced to about four weeks; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes it may be eliminated by the end of the summer. Many Hawai'i doctors have the vaccine now.
All kindergarten, preschool and childcare students must have the chickenpox vaccination by July, in addition to the other shots that they have long been required to have: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, hepatitis B, measles, mumps and rubella.
The new state vaccination rules, based on national guidelines, are intended to help older children, who are less likely than infants and toddlers to see a doctor regularly.
The state has never before screened seventh-grade students for immunization records or required the chickenpox vaccination for any students. Children must either show they received the chickenpox vaccine or have a doctor's document indicating they have already been exposed to chickenpox.
Hawai'i's schools have had occasional outbreaks of measles, rubella and whooping cough. Health officials say that with a constant influx of tourists and immigrants from around the world, Hawai'i children need to be vaccinated to avoid outbreaks.
Parents can get three-month extensions if they provide a signed statement from a doctor that their children have physical exams scheduled or have begun the vaccination series and are waiting for the next dose. Medical and religious exemptions are also available.
Families who cannot afford the vaccines will be able to receive them for free by contacting the Department of Health.
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
