Beat the school rush on immunizations

CARSON CITY — The Nevada State Division of Public and Behavioral Health and Immunize Nevada encourage parents to get their school-age children immunized now to avoid long lines and extended wait times that may occur closer to the start of the 2015-2016 school year.

Immunization requirements apply to any student enrolling in a Nevada school for the first time or is new to a Nevada school district, including all kindergarten students. Requirements also apply to all incoming seventh graders.

“There have been recent outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases in California, including measles and whooping cough,” said Immunize Nevada Executive Director Heidi Parker. “Those outbreaks are a reminder of how important it is to make sure our students are fully immunized before heading back to school, as disease can easily spread in the classroom environment.”

If your child is due for a vaccine before the start of school, getting them done in July is much easier and less stressful than going to clinics during the back to school rush.

Requirements for school vaccinations in Nevada are as follows:

Kindergartners and other children enrolling in a Nevada school for the first time must provide schools with a complete Nevada Immunization Record showing that the child has received the required number of doses of ...

Polio (IPV)

Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR)

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis B

Varicella (chicken pox)

Students entering seventh grade must have been vaccinated against Pertussis, also known as whooping cough with the tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine.

University students must provide proof of immunity to tetanus, diphtheria, measles, mumps and rubella. If the student is under 23 years of age and enrolled as freshman, they will not be permitted to reside in on-campus housing until they submit proof of immunity against Meningitis (Meningococcal vaccine).

For parents of seventh graders, this is a great time to make sure your child does not miss the other recommended tween vaccines. These include the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which prevents HPV related cancers in men and women and the Meningococcal vaccine for protection against bacterial meningitis, a severe disease that can lead to loss of limbs, brain damage and even death.

Parents and legal guardians can access and print official immunization records for their children through Nevada WebIZ, which is a confidential online system used statewide by healthcare providers to keep track of patients’ immunizations. A printed Nevada WebIZ record can be used as proof of immunization for school entry. The system also automatically generates a personalized list of recommended immunizations for each record accessed.

When users first access Nevada WebIZ, they will need to call the Help Desk at 775-684-5954 to associate a social security number to the record.