New Immunizations Required For 7th Graders

Under guidelines established by the Ohio Department of Health, Marion Public Health is reporting that all students entering the 7th grade in the 2010-2011 school year will be required to have a booster dose of the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) vaccine prior to the start of the new school year.

Tdap is the only required vaccine for your soon-to-be 7th grader but there are a number of other recommended adolescent vaccines available at Marion Public Health.

Marion Public Health will provide several clinics to assist families in meeting the Tdap requirement prior to start of 2010-2011 school year:

• Every Monday 8:30-11:30 and 1:00-4:00
• The 4th Tuesday of each month 4:00-5:30
• Special Scheduled Tdap clinics:
  1. Monday, June 7:  8:30-11:30 and  1:00-6:00
  2. Monday, August 16:  8:30-11:30 and 1:00-6:00

The fee is $24.50.  Payment methods accepted are cash, checks or valid CareSource, Molina or Medicaid cards.

If you have questions concerning payment or if you are unable to attend a scheduled clinic, you can call Viki for an appointment 387-6520 ext. 116.

Along with the mandatory Tdap vaccination, the following is a list of the recommended adolescent vaccines available at the health department:

• Menactra (MCV4-one dose to protect against meningitis) -Teens are at increased risk for this bacterial infection.  Meningitis can kill a healthy person in less than 48 hours. Survivors can have serious problems that last the rest of their lives.
• Whooping Cough (Tdap-one dose to protect against Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis)-This disease is spread by coughing and sneezing.  Anyone can catch pertussis and spread it to others.  Teens may be sick for weeks and spread it to others that may die from the disease.
• HPV (Human Papillomavirus-three dose series to protect against HPV disease)-HPV disease is the leading cause of cervical cancer in women and genital warts in men and women.
• Chicken Pox (Varicella-two doses to protect against chicken pox if not already immune from disease)-This disease causes fever and rash.  In some cases, especially in teens, serious health problems may occur.