Push is on to get students immunized

Health care - With school about to start, clinics are busy giving children vaccines required by the state

By Nancy Townsley

The Forest Grove News-Times, Aug 30, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Kaleb Adkinson, 8, gets ready for his hepatitis A shot, administered by medical assistant Iris Galicia at the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Clinic in Cornelius. He’s one of thousands of Washington County students who will receive state-required immunizations this year.

Chase Allgood / News-Times

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Eight-year-old Kaleb Adkinson offered up his arm and looked away, waiting for the needle.

The Gaston Elementary School third-grader barely winced as he took his medicine at the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Clinic Monday morning, getting a shot in each arm.

“What a brave boy you are,” praised his mother, Deann Oldham, who had brought her son in to be treated for an ear infection.

Looking over Kaleb’s chart, the doctor realized he was due for a hepatitis A immunization and a varicella booster – vaccines required by the state.

Without them, Kaleb would have been excluded from school, which begins next week.

“I’m really glad we came in,” said Oldham.

Across Washington County, hundreds of parents are following suit, making appointments for immunizations with private physicians or, if they lack insurance, at free and reduced-price clinics.

This year, six different shots are required for children in preschool, certified daycare or Head Start. Public or private school students in grades K-12 must be up-to-date on seven vaccines.

The mandates trickle down from federal health policies originating in Washington, D.C., but county officials – with cooperation from school districts, parents and guardians – are responsible for making sure families are in compliance.

‘Pretty good’ job

Gregg Russell, Washington County’s immunization coordinator, has spent 14 years keeping tabs on who’s had their shots – and who hasn’t. He said that overall, families are doing a “pretty good” job getting their children vaccinated.

“Basically, it’s the parents’ responsibility, and they’re responding,” said Russell, who works in the Department of Health Immunizations. “We’re not doing bad at all.”

This year the Russell is tracking 104,793 students from the moment they enter preschool through the 12th grade.

“We oversee students from 373 schools in Forest Grove, Banks, Gaston, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tigard and Sherwood,” Russell said.

The vast majority obtain their vaccines from private pediatricians and family practice physicians. But many – some who are underinsured and others who have no insurance at all – come to the county for help with immunizations.

Each year, 5,000 children are immunized at one of three county-run clinics in Hillsboro, Beaverton and Tigard, Russell said.

“We offer them at no charge, or on a sliding fee scale, depending on the circumstances,” said Russell, whose clinics see many families on the Oregon Health Plan.

Not always affordable

Individual vaccines can run from $20 to $125 each, Russell noted. “It’s simply not affordable for some people,” he said.

The county works closely with school districts to make sure students’ shot records are up-to-date.

Schools report to Russell’s department if a student is out of compliance with state immunization laws.

“We send a letter that gives parents two weeks to prove their kids are current,” he said. “Usually it’s a matter of the parents neglecting to give the information to the school.”

A child entering school for the first time in Oregon gets a bit of a break, said Angela Kulak, health services nurse for the Forest Grove School District.

“Kindergartners and transfer students all need to have at least one immunization in the series before they start school,” she pointed out. After that, they have until February to get current.

For returning students, once it’s established that one or more initial vaccinations or booster shots are missing, a child can continue attending school until mid-February, when “exclusion day” rolls around. At that point, they are asked to stay home until the proper documentation is turned in.

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