Add Getting Vaccines To Back To School Preparations

With the summer flying by, the Valley County Health Department is encouraging everyone to consider getting the recommended vaccines as part of their back-to-school routine. By getting the vaccines sooner than later, the child doesn’t associate the vaccine with school and families are able to arrange vaccines at a time that is convenient for them.

All children over age four, especially for those entering kindergarten, are required to have the MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella and varicella) vaccine and the DtaP/IPV (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular Pertussis, and inactivated poliovirus) vaccine. These vaccines are in addition to the vaccines received as an infant.

Measles, mumps, rubella and varicella are viral diseases that can have serious consequences and easily spread from person to person. Measles doesn’t even require personal contact and can be transmitted by entering a room that a person with measles left up to two hours before.

The DtaP/IPV vaccine protects from 15,000 diphtheria deaths per year and protects from the same rate of paralysis from polio that previously occurred in the 1950s. Polio still exists in the world however and is watched closely. Pertussis is most dangerous to infants leading to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage or death. Tetanus enters the body through a cut or wound; it is not spread from person to person and is fatal in 10 percent of cases.

Vaccine-preventable diseases are uncommon, thanks to vaccinations. But these diseases are still a risk to our children. Outbreaks of some of these diseases still occur across the United Sates and around the world. Children usually catch these diseases from other children or adults, who might not even know they are infected.

Students entering seventh-grade are required to have the Tdap vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis). Montana law requires students to have proof of this immunization for seventh-grade entry. Pertussis, also known as whopping cough, is a highly contagious disease involving the throat and lungs, and is one of the deadliest diseases of infants and young children.

The meningococcal vaccine (MCV4), the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and the Hepatitis A (HAV) vaccines are also recommended and are routine vaccinations. The MCV4 is recommended by the CDC for children age 11 to 12. A booster does is recommended between 16 and 18 years also. Meningococcal disease is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children in the US.

The Gardasil vaccine (HPV) is a series of two shots given six months apart if the first dose is given prior to age 15. The CDC recommends that boys and girls age 11-12 receive this vaccine. Spread by males and females, HPV is a very common virus that can lead to genital warts and cancer so the HPV vaccine is cancer prevention.

The havrix vaccine (HAV) is also a two-dose series given six months apart and is now given routinely to all babies but this age group is often missing Hepatitis A protection. Hepatitis A is a serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus and is spread from person to person through contact with the stool of people who are infected, which can easily happen if someone does not wash his or her hands properly. You can also get hepatitis A from food, water or objects contaminated with HAV and can be spread without any symptoms.

If you have medical insurance, please bring your card and the Health Department will bill your insurance directly. The Health Department is located at 500 4th Ave. S., Glasgow, and appointments can be made by contacting the Health Department at 406-228-6261 during regular hours of 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday.