Three More Vaccinations Recommended Before School Starts

Before school doors open and classrooms fill up with students on Aug. 23, the Maryland Center for Immunization recommends that children and teenagers revisit their doctors and get three additional shots – the flu shot, meningococcal vaccine and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. These are in addition to the vaccinations that the Prince George's County school district requires.

Of the three vaccines, the flu shot has been the most discussed. Deena Speights-Napata, the center's deputy program manager, recommends that everyone 6 months and older get the flu shot. Most doctor offices will give the shot, which protects against H1N1 and two other influenza viruses.

"All of our attention has been about the flu shot lately," she said. "We recommend that everyone gets it once a year."

Speights-Napata also suggests that students get vaccines for meningococcal (a form of meningitis) and the sexually transmitted disease HPV. It is recommended that unvaccinated adolescents ages 11 through 18 years get the meningococcal vaccine, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

To prevent HPV, the department recommends that 11- or 12-year-old girls receive the three HPV shots in addition to girls and young women ages 13 through 26 who have not yet received them. The vaccine is also recommended for males ages 9 through 26 to prevent genital warts.

Speights-Napata suggests these three shots in addition to the standard vaccinations given in the first three months after birth up to age 6. The standard vaccines are required for Prince George's County students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and they help prevent the following diseases: polio, measles, mumps, rubella (three-day measles), varicella (chicken pox), hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.  

After having met the school's attendance goal last year, William Wirt Middle School's principal, Prentice Christian, is not too concerned about health issues for the upcoming year. Christian said his students are usually healthy and the school incorporates preventive measures to ensure this. Hand sanitizers are placed in every classroom, and teachers are constantly encouraging students to wash their hands.

But the schools cannot keep children healthy all on their own.

"In order to prevent illnesses, it's important that parents make sure their children leave home with the proper clothing on. If it's cold, bundle up," Christian said. "Parents should also provide healthy meals and take their children to the doctor when their kids complain about being sick."

As for students, Christian recommends washing their hands and not drinking after each other - even if they really want a sip of their classmate's Capri Sun.