Here’s a little something our kids don’t even want to think about: School starts again in just about a month from now. That means every school-age child from pre-school to high school needs to be fully vaccinated before school starts.
Making sure our children get all their vaccinations on time is one of the most important things we can do as parents to ensure their long-term health — and not just their health, but the health of our children’s friends, classmates, even our community.
The New Mexico Department of Health, the New Mexico Primary Care Association and the New Mexico Immunization Coalition are working together in making sure all New Mexico children are immunized on time.
The New Mexico Immunization Coalition is hosting its annual immunization event Aug. 6 at the Cineport 10 movie theater at the Mesilla Valley Mall and again on both Aug. 10 and Aug. 11 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. all three days.
State law in New Mexico requires children going to school to be vaccinated against certain diseases such as polio, measles, whooping cough and chickenpox. Exemptions can be granted for religious or medical reasons.
Overall, there are few exemptions statewide. There’s a medical term called “herd immunity.” Herd immunity is when a sufficient number of people are immune to an infectious disease (through vaccination and/or prior illness) to make its spread from person to person unlikely. Even people not vaccinated (such as newborns, or people with chronic illnesses) gain some protection they wouldn’t have otherwise because the disease has little opportunity to spread within the community.Check with your child’s doctor to find out what vaccines they need this school year, because it varies by age. For example, kids who are 4 to 6 years old are due for boosters of four vaccines: DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis), chickenpox, MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella), and polio. Older children, like pre-teens and teens, need Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis), HPV (human papillomavirus), and MCV (meningococcal conjugate virus) vaccines. Flu vaccines are also recommended for kids 6 months and older to help keep them healthy.
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