Ready to head back to school? These vaccines are required for all Kentucky students
Public school students start a new year in Fayette County this week, and if your child doesn’t have all their shots, you might want to get them caught up.
COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Kentucky in what some are calling a “summer surge,” and Lexington is still dealing with an ongoing whooping cough outbreak. If you want to limit the illnesses your child could bring home from school, and save yourself a sick day in the process, the time to act is now.
Here’s what you need to know to catch up on your child’s immunizations if you’ve fallen behind.
COVID-19 and whooping cough: What to know as schools reopen
Fayette County Public Schools will welcome students back for the first day of classes Wednesday. It comes as COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Kentucky.
For the week ending Aug. 3, according to the latest figures from the Kentucky Department for Public Health, the state’s count of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases stood at 2,160. The rate of new cases has been steadily rising throughout the summer, as has the rate of hospital admissions and emergency room visits.
Deaths to the virus this summer are also up compared to the spring, though still low overall. The state health department reported 14 deaths in July.
Updated COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be available this fall, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2024-25 vaccines will specifically target the JN.1 strain of the virus, considered an offshoot of the Omicron variant. They could be available as soon as this month or in September, according to ABC News.
As Fayette County schools open this week, Lexington is also facing an outbreak of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough. The disease, caused by bacteria, is characterized by a runny nose and then a persistent cough in children who catch it.
“It is important to start school with the required immunizations, and with this being back-to-school week, many pediatrician offices and our health department are seeing an increase in requests for appointments,” Lexington-Fayette County Health Department spokesperson Kevin Hall wrote the Herald-Leader in an email Monday.
“With pertussis (whooping cough) continuing to spread in Lexington, it’s more important than ever to talk to providers about making sure kids are covered and up to date,” Hall wrote.
Monday in a Facebook post, LFCHD reminded families to get up to date on their immunizations, including the one for whooping cough, the Tdap vaccine.
The department’s public health clinic assists uninsured and the underinsured families with back-to-school shots. Call 859-288-2483 to make a same-day appointment, and learn more online at lfchd.org/19667-khipae.
What to know about Kentucky’s vaccine schedule
FCPS does not require students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or the flu as a condition for attendance.
That said, students do need to be up to date on a range of immunizations, including for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR vaccine), polio and chickenpox, to name a few.
For parents who are familiar with the school district’s immunization requirements, FCPS health service coordinator Debbie Boian said the schedule has not changed this year.
“The vaccine schedule has not changed,” Boian wrote the Herald-Leader in an email Monday. “We still check immunizations annually, and try to notify parents when new vaccines are due.”
For parents who aren’t familiar with the school district’s requirements, Boian said the school district follows recommendations from the Kentucky Department for Public Health. Children should reach these doses by a particular age.
For kindergarten entry, all children between the ages of 4 to 6 years old must have:
Five doses of DTap or Tdap vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis
Four doses of the IPV (polio vaccine)
Two doses of the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)
Two doses of the varicella (VAR) vaccine against chickenpox
For sixth-grade entry, all children between the ages of 11 to 12 years old must have:
One additional dose of the Tdap vaccine for boosted immunity
Two doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine
One dose of the vaccine against meningococcal disease (ACWY variety)
Two doses of meningococcal vaccine B (MenB variety)
Annual doses of the flu and coronavirus vaccines are also recommended.
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