Are Your Family’s Students Up to Date on Vaccines

August 29, 2024

The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) encourages parents to remember important vaccinations for their children along with lunches, notebooks and backpacks as students begin a new school year.

"Children have returned to schools, where they are in close contact with each other all day. It doesn't take much to spread illness," said Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer and state epidemiologist with WDH. "We are thankful to have vaccines to help protect our kids from many life-threatening diseases such as measles and whooping cough."

Some vaccines are required for attendance at public and private schools and child care facilities in Wyoming. Kindergarteners should be up-to-date on DTaP, MMR, hepatitis B, polio and varicella vaccinations. Children who are 11 through 12 years old should receive a Tdap vaccination. Depending on individual school rules, children who have not completed their required vaccinations may be put on conditional enrollment or be excluded from school.

"We encourage parents to keep their children up-to-date on required immunizations, as well as others we recommend such as for flu, HPV, meningococcal, hepatitis A and COVID-19," Harrist said. "These are all great tools to help keep Wyoming kids healthy."

Harrist noted cost should not be a barrier to vaccinations for Wyoming's children.

"For children with health insurance, vaccination costs are covered by most policies," she said. "In addition, more than 100 Wyoming providers offer low-cost vaccines for qualifying children who may need help paying for vaccinations through the Vaccines for Children program."

WDH suggests families look up their children's vaccination records in Docket, a secure website and smartphone app offered by the department. Docket can be used to create an official record of vaccinations that have been reported to the Wyoming Immunization Registry and can notify users when vaccinations are due. Docket is also available for adults in Wyoming.

For more information about vaccine records, visit immunizewyoming.com and look for the "Vaccine Records and Docket" tab. Residents may also visit immunizewyoming.com and click on the "Find a Provider" tab to find nearby vaccine providers and more information about programs in Wyoming offering financial help for vaccinations.

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