Head start on new vaccines urged
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Although state health officials are waiting to see whether enough vaccines will be available, they advise parents to start asking their family doctors now about whether their children meet new school immunization requirements.
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, call the Hawai'i immunization program at 586-8323, or (800) 933-4832 from the Neighbor Islands. • Parents of children without a doctor should call Aloha United Way at 275-2000. Neighbor Island parents can call toll-free at (877) 275-6569. * A documented history of chickenpox may be substituted for the vaccine requirement.
Starting in July, students entering seventh grade will be required to show proof of immunization for chickenpox, as well as for measles, mumps, rubella and hepatitis B. Children will not be allowed to attend school if they have not met the requirements.
At a glance
All kindergarten, preschool and childcare students also will need to 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.
"If we don't get the seventh-graders, we're setting them up for trouble," said Paul Effler, interim chief for the Department of Health's communicable diseases division, as the DOH launched its "Vax to School" campaign this week. "If they didn't get vaccinated as a child, this is a safety net."
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.
Effler said seventh-grade students must show that they have had two vaccinations for mumps, measles and rubella. Some children may have received only one vaccination as an infant. Also, seventh-graders are too old to have gone through any of the state's recent hepatitis B projects, and many may need to have that vaccination.
Bruce Anderson, state health director, said the chickenpox vaccine, which has become widely available in the past few years, can help prevent the more serious complications, such as pneumonia, that some people experience with chickenpox. "Now that there is a vaccine there is no reason to take the chance," he said.
But the department is awaiting national recommendations on how to proceed if vaccine shortages affect parents' ability to meet the July deadline.
Malama Markowitz, who manages the Health Department's immunization program, said a shortage of vaccines, especially for chickenpox, has affected the entire country. Some Hawai'i doctors have the vaccines now.
If families contact their doctors and find that the vaccine is not available at the doctor's office, they can at least get onto a waiting list and be notified when they can come in for the shots, Markowitz said.
About 99 percent of Hawai'i children are vaccinated by the time they enter school, and experts aren't sure how many of the state's 15,000 seventh-graders will need shots as a result of the new rule.
Hawai'i's schools have had occasional, small 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.
If parents are unable to get the shots for their children, they are given 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 that cannot afford the vaccines will be able to receive them for free. "Hopefully getting the shots won't be a financial burden for families," Markowitz said.
