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New York Requires More Back-To-School Immunizations

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- State immunization rules have changed and children starting kindergarten this fall won’t be able to wait until they’re six to get certain shots, according to the state Education Department.

Revised state vaccination regulations could have parents and kids visiting the pediatrician for more shots this summer.

Revised state vaccination regulations could have parents and kids visiting the pediatrician for more shots this summer.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Flickr user Sanofi Pasteur

The state Department of Health has notified school officials that the new vaccination requirements take effect Sept. 1, according to Renee L. Rider, assistant commissioner, of the state Education Department's Office of Student Support Services.

In New York, exemptions for deeply held religious beliefs or for valid medical reasons are still allowed.

Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics show that 178 people have gotten the measles so far this year. Many of them became infected after visiting two Disney theme parks in California, according to a report on npr.org. Most of the victims were not vaccinated, npr.org said.

And in June, a woman from Washington state died of measles, the first such reported death in the United States in 12 years. The Washington state Department of Health said that the woman had had other health conditions and was taking medications that suppressed her immune system.

The npr.org report also noted that, while the Disney outbreaks grabbed headlines, last year's were worse. There were, it said, 23 outbreaks. And these included close to 400 cases in Ohio among unvaccinated Amish communities.

The source of the infections, in 2014 and this year, is thought to have been unvaccinated travelers, who bought measles to the U.S., the npr.org report said.

The revised New York state vaccination requirements include:

  • Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR): For kindergartners through 12th graders, two doses of the measles and mumps vaccines and one dose for rubella. The change here is, that waiting up to age six for the second shot is no longer allowed, according to the state Education Department.
  • Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (DTaP): Affecting kindergartners through 12th graders. Five doses required for school entry. However, if the child got this shot at the age of four or older, only four doses are required.  Students entering eighth through 12th grade this school year must meet immunization requirement that were in effect prior to July 1, 2014.
  • Polio (IPV): For kindergartners and those entering first, sixth and seventh grades, four doses of the poliomyelitis vaccine is required. However, if the child got his or her third dose when four or older, only three doses are required. For children entering second through fifth grades and eighth through 12th grades, only three doses are required.

And, according to a report by lohud.com, students entering kindergarten, first, sixth and seventh grades need to have had two doses of the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine.

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