The Minnesota Department of Health has released new guidelines regarding vaccinations for all students pre-k to grade 12.
Among the biggest changes parents and caregivers can expect to see are the following:
- Hepatitis A and B vaccination for children enrolling in child care or early childhood programs.
- Replacement of the current seventh-grade tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccination with one also including pertussis (Tdap).
- Meningococcal vaccination beginning in seventh grade.
The changes were adopted at a public hearing last summer. They take effect beginning Sept. 1, 2014.
“I’m highly supportive of these new requirements,” said Mark Schleiss, M.D., Director of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases division at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “It’s an important step forward for the health of Minnesota’s children.”
No changes were made to the medical exemption or the option for parents to decline any or all vaccines. Schleiss hopes that parents contemplating the option to decline vaccines will reconsider their decision.
“I would hope that parents are supportive of the guidelines. I find them to be very reasonable,” said Schleiss. “These particular infections are serious and can be deadly.”
Interested in learning more about Minnesota’s new guidelines? View the official fact sheet here.
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