Get Your Kids Up to Date on Vaccines at School Clinics

As the back-to-school season kicks off, Public Health Madison & Dane County is holding a series of school vaccine clinics to help parents get their kids up to date on immunizations. The clinics are being held in partnership with SSM Health, UW Health, Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), Verona Area School District (VASD), and Group Health Cooperative (GHC).

"Partnerships like this reflect our commitment to ensuring that every child in our community has access to illness-preventing and potentially life-saving vaccines," said Janel Heinrich, director of Public Health Madison & Dane County. "By teaming up, we can make it easier for families to protect their children against preventable diseases as they return to the classroom this fall."

"SSM Health is proud to come together with our community partners for these essential school vaccine clinics," says Megan Timm, SSM Health Wisconsin Regional Director of Community Health. "By breaking down access barriers for our community members we are providing critical access and illness prevention for local students, their families, and the community as a whole."

All vaccines that are required for school will be available, including meningitis and pertussis, as well as COVID-19, flu, and more. The vaccines are free and available for school-aged kids 5 and older. Appointments are strongly recommended and can be scheduled online. The clinics will be held at the following locations and dates:

• Monday, October 7: Mendota Elementary School (4002 School Rd, Madison) from 12:00pm to 4:00pm
• Monday, October 14: Leopold Elementary School (2602 Post Rd, Madison) from 4:00pm to 7:00 pm
• Monday, October 15: Sugar Creek Elementary School (740 N Main St, Verona) from 4:00pm to 7:00pm
• Saturday, October 19: Holtzman Learning Center (333 Holtzman Rd, Madison) from 10:00am to 2:00pm
• Monday, October 21: Holtzman Learning Center (333 Holtzman Rd, Madison) from 8:00am to 12:00pm
• Saturday, October 26: Savanna Oaks Middle School (5890 Lacy Rd, Fitchburg) from 12:00pm to 4:00pm

At these school clinics, we can vaccinate you if you do not have insurance, are under 19 and are Alaskan Native or American Indian, have BadgerCare, Quartz, GHC, or Dean insurance. Children can still receive routine childhood vaccines at no charge through the Vaccines for Children Program.

"We are deeply grateful for the collaboration between GHC, Public Health, SSM Health, and UW Health, and our shared dedication to providing accessible healthcare for all families," MMSD Lead Nurse Coach Kari Stampfli said. "For years, we've seen great success in holding free vaccine clinics right in our schools. As we begin the 2024-25 school year, we are looking forward to the upcoming clinics which will provide crucial vaccines to thousands of students directly in their community."

Verona Area School District Lead Nurse Rikki Conwell stated "In the VASD, we believe that strong communities make strong schools, and strong schools make strong communities. This partnership is another example of the community and schools working together to support our students, families, and each other. When we come together to help our families keep their children healthy, they are better able to engage in learning every day at school. We look forward to working with Public Health Madison & Dane County to offer this service in our schools."

"UW Health is proud to be part of this collaboration," said Lea Veltum, RN, director of ambulatory operations, UW Health. "Ensuring that children and students have access to these vaccinations helps keep our schools and families healthy as kids go back to class and as we head into the respiratory season."

Find a full list of required K-12 school immunizations on the Wisconsin Department of Health Services website.

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