(Washington, DC) – At present, Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC Well being remind mother and father and caregivers throughout the District to make sure their kids and teenagers get hold of the required immunizations required for college.
“The beginning of any faculty 12 months is an thrilling time for academics, college students, and households. As we make our back-to-school lists, ensure you have immunizations and properly little one visits in your record,” stated Mayor Bowser. “Each pupil deserves a powerful begin to the college 12 months, and that begins on day one and it begins by caring for their well being. By ensuring our kids are updated on their immunizations, we are able to all do our half to maintain our faculties secure, wholesome locations of studying.”
DC Well being recommends that households schedule visits earlier than the primary day of faculty to permit time for any vital follow-up appointments or vaccinations. College students in each grade are required to be updated on vaccinations. A abstract of vaccines required to enter key grades within the District could be discovered right here.
The most effective place for DC households to entry required childhood immunizations is thru their medical supplier. Nonetheless, DC Well being and its companions have expanded entry to vaccination companies which embrace:
- College-Based mostly Well being Facilities: Households with college students ages 3 and older will be capable to go to any school-based well being middle, no matter the place the coed is enrolled, for a vaccination-only appointment.
- District Cellular Medical Items: Group suppliers are putting cellular items at faculties, recreation facilities, and different group places.
- Pediatric Immunization Clinics: Day by day vaccination alternatives carried out alongside group companions at faculties all through the District.
All pediatric immunization clinics are free, although insured households ought to carry their insurance coverage playing cards to their immunization appointments.
For extra info on the pediatric immunizations and to seek out the clinics close to you, DC Well being’s August calendar has a complete record of them.
For extra info and to register for a pediatric immunization clinic, go to pedsvax.dc.gov.
This 12 months, DC Well being can be debuting a brand new Digital Common Well being Certificates (e-UHC) supplier portal. This new portal permits medical suppliers the choice to submit the required UHC well being evaluation kinds immediately to varsities and DC Well being. Households whose suppliers take part on this program will now not must carry a tough copy of the coed’s UHC to their faculty.
By eliminating this barrier, DC Well being hopes to extend UHC submission charges to assist faculties in understanding the well being wants of their college students.
Finishing the UHC requires crucial properly little one visits that guarantee college students are wholesome, updated on their immunizations, and able to get again to high school.
“Properly little one visits are very important to determine and deal with any well being considerations earlier than they turn out to be extra severe,” stated Dr. Ayana Bennett, Performing Director of DC Well being. “These visits additionally present a possibility for fogeys to debate any behavioral or developmental considerations with their little one’s healthcare supplier. We perceive that households have confronted unprecedented challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, it’s essential that oldsters prioritize their kids’s well being and schedule properly little one visits with their healthcare supplier as quickly attainable.”
Properly little one visits usually embrace a bodily examination, developmental and behavioral screenings, and vaccinations. These visits are important to watch a toddler’s development and growth, guarantee they’re assembly developmental milestones, and stop the unfold of vaccine-preventable illnesses.
Social Media:
Mayor Bowser Twitter: @MayorBowser
Mayor Bowser Instagram: @Mayor_Bowser
Mayor Bowser Fb: fb.com/MayorMurielBowser
Mayor Bowser YouTube: https://www.bit.ly/eomvideos
