From the Harford County Health Department:
School and public health officials in Harford County urge parents to make sure their children are properly immunized by the start of school to meet new state regulations. Seventh graders in Harford must receive their Tdap and Meningitis vaccines by Sept 12 or be excluded from school the following Monday. Other new vaccination requirements exist for children entering kindergarten in 2014.
State and local officials have been working since last year to prepare Maryland parents and schools for the new school year. In May, 2014, the Harford County Health Department and Harford County Public Schools collaborated to administer 528 doses of Tdap vaccine and 542 doses of Meningitis vaccine to sixth graders taking part in initiatives conducted at each of the nine public middle schools. The Health Department also has reached out to area private schools whose students are affected by the new regulations. Emails were sent to private school nurses explaining how they could receive help meeting the new requirements.
Families with insurance are encouraged to take their students to their private provider for the necessary vaccinations, which also may be available through the Target clinics and Patient First. However, children without insurance or any student who has difficulty obtaining these vaccines through their healthcare provider should call the Harford County Health Department at 410-612-1774 to schedule an appointment to receive the Tdap and/or Meningitis vaccine(s) at no cost.
Although immunizations against both childhood and adult diseases are one of public health’s greatest success stories, thousands of cases of preventable illness still occur in the United States every year despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines. Second only to the availability of clean water, vaccination has greatly reduced the burden of infectious diseases throughout the United States and worldwide.
“When a critical number of people within a community are vaccinated against a particular illness, the entire group becomes less likely to get infected,” states Harford County Health Officer, Susan Kelly. “Not only does vaccination protect those who are immunized, but it also can slow down the rates by which illness spreads among those who are not. It’s also less expensive to prevent a disease than to treat it,” explains Ms. Kelly, referring to studies showing that for every dollar spent on routine childhood immunization in the U.S., researchers estimate savings to society of more than $5 in direct costs and almost $11 in additional costs.
For more information on school immunization requirement visit the Harford County Health Department website at www.harfordcountyhealth.com. To schedule an appointment, contact the Health Department Communicable Disease Unit at 410-612-1774.
From the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene:
NEW SCHOOL IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS FOR MARYLAND KINDERGARTEN AND 7TH GRADE STUDENTS
Baltimore, MD (August 11, 2014) –State and local officials have been working since last year to prepare Maryland parents and schools for new school immunization requirements for students entering kindergarten and 7th grade this fall. All kindergartners must have had two chickenpox (varicella) vaccinations. All 7th graders must receive a pertussis booster (Tdap) and dose of meningitis vaccines. School officials and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) are urging parents to make sure their child is appropriately immunized against these diseases prior to the start of school. Children may be excluded from school if they do not have these vaccinations.
“We have spent the past year helping parents and schools prepare for these school immunization requirements,” said Dr. Laura Herrera, Deputy Secretary for DHMH Public Health Services. “We want to be sure all Maryland children start the school year with up-to-date vaccinations and are ready to learn.”
Immunizations are one of public health’s greatest triumphs. With the exception of safe water, no other health strategy– not even the creation of antibiotics–has had such a tremendous effect on reducing disease. Despite the availability of safe and effective immunizations, thousands of cases of vaccine-preventable diseases occur in the United States every year. Consider the following facts about varicella, pertussis and meningitis:
• Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease that can be spread before a person knows they have the disease.
• Chickenpox can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia and brain damage.
• One out of five people who get meningococcal meningitis experience serious complications, such as the loss of limb(s), permanent hearing loss, or mental impairment.
• In recent years, adolescents (11-18 yrs) and adults (19 yrs and older) have accounted for an increasing proportion of pertussis cases.
• Infants who are at highest risk for complications and death due to pertussis are often infected by older siblings, parents or caregivers who might not even know they have the disease.
In preparation for the new requirements, local health departments are holding special back-to-school clinics throughout the state. Parents should call their doctor or local health department to learn if their child needs any of the school-required vaccinations and make arrangements to receive the missing vaccines so their child will not be excluded from school.
Does this apply to Illegal immigrants?
Illegal human beings are people too and they too can become ill just like anyone else. Illegals have rights as your Constitution upheld. So eat the tacos and say grassy-ass.
I thought immunizations have been a requirement to enter public school for some time. And yes, even for illegals…….
just a question. What about making It mandatory for school employees, café workers, nurses, custodians, bus drivers or any one else who is exposed to children. Why are they exempt?
Most adults have had they vaccinations already but many front line direct contact staff do take vaccinations for hepatitis, flu ;and other recommended vaccinations. Children are more susceptible to chicken pox, rubella and other air borne illnesses.
Heard that HC is being looked at a possible destination for some of outflow of undocumented refugees from Central America since the republican’s refused to fund the money needed to process. This will cause delays of up to a year for processing and sending back children to their homelands. Stick your head in the sand and pretend that you can just stop them from wanting a better life across into the USA. They will come and the biggest fence can be had with a bigger ladder.
refugee….. are you an idiot? lets call the people exactly what they are; criminal aliens or foreign invaders. they cross into our sovereign country illegally and break our laws. they demand that we give them rights and privileges reserved for legal citizens and if i disagree i am labeled a racist. most of these are disease ridden, uneducated, obese, and in need of much government assistance. i say that as long as we have thousands of poor, uneducated, drug addicted, homeless americans they should be at the front of the line for government assistance. when we have veterans that cannot get work and health benefits when they have fought for our freedom, i say they too should be at the front of the line for assistance. these criminal aliens can go back to their lawless country of origin and apply for citizenship like everyone else has to THE LEGAL WAY.
What— Well at least you recognize that you may be a racist, let me just confirm that you are indeed racist. You lack compassion, care of any of the good attributes of a good American. You belong in the USSR, I hear it is coming back. You can join narrow minded people such Putin, I am sure he would give you legal status next to our other fine upstanding American, Mr. Snowden.
Say Rico… you wouldn’t know compassion if it jumped up and bit your racist butt. Anybody ignoring the hundreds of hopeless souls shot dead on the streets of Chicago while championing that we add to an underclass of minorities is themselves racist filth. Basically, you are an agenda driven puke that has no human compassion at all.
I have seen some obese and uneducated….. wait those were Americans protesting the buses holding the refugees and they even harassed a bus with American school kids thinking they were not American.
“buses holding the refugees” – You mean the gangstas and the 35 year old males claiming to be 17. Oh… Okay.
Construct some section 8 housing in Bel air and Fallston so they can house the refugees.
Better yet, construct some Section 8 housing in Bel Air and Fallston to house some of the refugees from Edgewood!
Its bad enough that I as an employed person am forced to pay for lazy Americans, now I have to pay to support basically anyone in the world that comes to this country by whatever means they arrive. They should be immediately sent back to wherever they came from. A legal process exists for them to enter this country – sneaking across the boarder and demanding that I provide them housing, food, medical care and education is wrong. I’m not a racists, I don’t want to pay to support any criminals I don’t care what race they are.
Rico suave, you are more than welcome to adopt and pay for as many as you wish, at the very least you ought to post up your address and invite them to stay with you but you wont. You are like all liberals full of great ideas that someone else should pay for. Put your money where you mouth is, man up and invite them to your house!
I agree with you, Jay. We can’t or won’t take care of our own population of needy people, let alone thousands more people who have come here illegally. A fellow classmate and good ftiend of mine is here on a student visa and after she finishes her program at a major university, will have to go back to het country of origin, even though sge would love to stay here. She is a highly educated medical professional and has a lot to offer this country. Yet she will do the right thing and leave. Hopefully she will go through the process to eventually come here to live, but I know she will do it the right way and without any expectations of free housing, food, education and medical care.
We also need people to pick fruit and do all those jobs that Americans feel like are beneath them. So your friend should get preferential treatment? The problem has been confounded by an immigration policy that rewards other countries but those near us. When we have an immigration system that gives equal chance to all instead of cherry picking education, economic and race, then getting in line to enter legally will be a fair game for all. It seems to me that we need people of all skills and aptitudes, not just those with higher education degrees. The face undocumented immigrants is one of farm workers, seasonal, trades, manual labor and low paying by our standards but so valuable to their livelihood. Don’t just toss people aside as a commodity. Memo to the natives, most immigrants will not vote for a party that doesn’t consider their needs. Deportation works as well as abstinence for teens preventing pregnancy.
Previous national election, most naturalized citizens and children of first generation Americans voted Democratic 70% of the time. The tide is changing and the Republican Party needs to wake up and offer some solutions that do not involve deportation. Deportation won’t work because we don’t have a system that identifies those that are American/legal residents form those that are illegal. Employers too, seem to get away with hiring illegals without consequence.
Professor, if that is what you are, you missed my point. We have people from many foreign lands that camevto America andfollowed the rulesvto become naturalized citizens. My friend is an example of a highly educated medical professional that our healthcare system could really use. But she is an ethical person and won’t stay beyond her student visa because it is not the right thing to do. Others come flooding into this country illegally and the welcome mat isvrolled out. That seems ablittle unfair to me. That was my point: we need to consistently and fairly enforce our laws for all. I never said a thing about farmers or other levels of the workforce.
send all the illegals back to the place they came from and this includes kids
if they dont leave give them free food medical care via a prison cell
I for one am tired of hearing its for a better life or running from the cartels crap
future democrat voters are flooding over the border for the free stuff OWEmalley and his ilk are offering to these new americans to come to this state and further ruin it
Please give concrete examples of people getting free housing, free food and free health care??? I work in the business and everyone has to have proof of citizenship and needs a social security #
Just go down to Highlandtown and you will see that the populace there has significantly changed. There is an integration center there that assists with connecting folks into all kind of free services, such as early headstart where free meals are served in addition to home visiting and all the other goodies. There are free immunizations through the health department and yes, many of them are receiving subsidized housing. Free health care id also available through various community-based clinics. People need to open their eyes.
End corporate amnesty when caught employing illegals! That’s one way of stemming the tide of illegal workers coming in. It is like just fighting drug addicts while letting drug pushers out with a slap on the wrist. Corporate America, farms and many business need the cheap hardworking labor these people provide. There is a need for these workers and work permits should be given to those without a criminal record and have followed the law otherwise of illegal entry. A path for the dreamers to become naturalized citizens will happen, but I guess the conservative party will first have to take care of the TP and Campaign for Liberty first.
I thought that most of the children were crossing only to reunite with their families already in the USA. Now we find out that most of these people are adults, and parents are paying criminals up to $7,000 to have them smuggled into the USA. These kids have no family here and they have no way to take care of them. They are dumping their third world crisis onto our soil and you people are clueless. Liberals love compassion at someone else’s expense.
amen to that
liberals always want to push the crap they feel and like on everyone at whatever cost it takes
and if you disagree your a heartless racist redneck who is behind in the times