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Rush is on for vaccinations
County struggles to keep up as kids go back to school
Public health workers are struggling to keep up with demand for children’s immunization shots as schools begin classes across El Paso County.
State law says children must have several immunizations to enroll in a public school. Fall classes began Monday in four El Paso County school districts, and two districts started last week.
Workers at the county Health Department on Monday were making appointments for the shots
for the middle of September — about three weeks after the last district begins classes on Aug. 20.
The El Paso County Department of Health and Environment administers the shots mostly to people who don’t have health insurance. Some area charities also provide the shots for low-income families.
About 10 people work in the Health Department’s immunization clinic. The agency needs five more workers to keep up with demand for the shots, said Public Health Administrator Rosemary Bakes-Martin.
“We’re doing the best that we can with the limited resources,” Bakes-Martin said Monday.
Immunizations are not required for people who oppose them on religious or other grounds, or for children who can’t have the shots for medical reasons.
A 2004 survey found 73 percent of children in El Paso County schools were up-to-date on immunizations, the Health Department reported. The main reason respondents gave for not getting immunizations was a lack of health insurance.
In Colorado Springs School District 11, the region’s largest, staff members review immunization records and notify parents if a child’s shots aren’t up to date, said spokeswoman Elaine Naleski. After that, the law says parents have 14 days to ensure the shots are administered.
Naleski said she’s never heard of a child missing the deadline and being refused enrollment to school.
“Parents usually try as hard as they can to get those shots done,” she said. “We try very hard to connect the parents with different clinics where the shots are available.”
Classes in D-11 start Thursday.
The rush for immunizations at the Health Department is typical for this time of year, officials said. Workers in the immunization clinic expect to see 760 children for shots this month. The shots are free for children who meet financial qualifications. They cost $14 per dose for people who have insurance and don’t qualify for the free shots.
Health workers encourage people who have insurance to get the shots from a conventional care provider because those visits often involve a full health exam.
The risk can be high for people who don’t get the shots, Bakes-Martin said, citing recent outbreaks of whooping cough, mumps and measles.
“Any of those diseases, we’re seeing them show up, and lots of times the people who are the victims of it are the ones who did not get vaccinated,” she said.
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REQUIRED SHOTS
- Pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, diphtheria — five doses, or four if the fourth dose was given on or after the fourth birthday.
- Polio — four doses, or three if the third dose was given on or after the fourth birthday.
- Measles, mumps, rubella — two doses, and the second dose must have been given at least 28 days after the first.
- Hepatitis B — three doses.
- Varicella — two doses, and the first dose must have been given on or after the first birthday.
