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69 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, March 8, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 17, 2005 Kids without their shots kept out of school By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune About 140 Jackson County kids were turned away from schools and licensed day-care centers Wednesday because their immunizations weren’t up to date, county health officials said. The third Wednesday in February is known as "Exclusion Day" because state law requires children to have up-to-date immunizations or a medical or religious exemption on file by that date or else they can’t attend public and private schools, day-care centers and Head Start programs. In the county 31,236 children attend facilities that require them to be immunized, Jackson County Health Department officials said. Calls to all such facilities around the county found that 141 kids were excluded this year, reported Viki Brown, division manager at the Jackson County Health Department’s public health services. Ten of those children had no immunization records at all on file, probably because of recent moves, and 131 students had records that showed missing shots. "A lot of them are coming in here today," she said. "It’s been very steady. We’ve had a couple of people giving shots all day." Advertisement Although at one point Wednesday afternoon, most of those facing the needles were teens who needed to finish up a series of hepatitis B immunizations or get an additional dose of measles vaccine, Brown said generally the youngsters needing shots came from all age groups and all areas around the county. "It’s just kind of a smattering from everywhere," she said. The county sent out 1,179 letters warning about missing vaccinations, so Brown was pleased that most families had gotten their immunizations in order. "I believe people tried once they were notified," she said. "They were responsive." Last year the county sent 1,605 warning letters and 315 kids were barred from schools. In 2003, the county sent 1,673 letters and 347 kids were blocked from attending school. Countywide, 1,234 students have religious exemptions and 220 have medical exemptions to excuse them from immunizations, records show. Brown said she expects most kids to have their immunizations and records in order by the end of the week. She said Tuesday and Wednesday were the busiest days for the health department’s shot clinic and the number of shots given should taper off today. Children must get 19 shots, most given to children before age 2, that include 25 childhood vaccinations. The state requires vaccines protecting against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps and rubella. Additional requirements for hepatitis B, a second dose of measles-containing vaccine and varicella (chickenpox) vaccine are being phased in by grade. For children younger than 5, shots against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) also are required. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress Advertisement s