DDPHE Blog: Back to School Vaccines, What You You Need To Know

Published on July 15, 2024

Back to school is right around the corner. Before you know it, kids will be hopping on the bus and starting fresh with a new year. Every school year, it's important we keep our schools and communities healthy and safe from vaccine-preventable diseases. The Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) recommends you beat the back to school rush by scheduling a vaccine appointment for your child today.

Why Get Vaccinated This School Year?

Getting both students vaccinated helps protect our Denver community. Vaccines are safe and effective at preventing disease. Additionally, Colorado law (Board of Health rule 6 CCR 1009-2) requires all students attending Colorado schools and licensed child care facilities to be vaccinated against certain diseases, unless an exemption is filed. Staying up to date on routine vaccines is more important than ever.

Do your part to keep our community safe by making sure your child is up to date on all their vaccines. Head to the Colorado Immunization Information System to check your children's vaccine records.

Vaccines for Denver Public School Students

Options are available for Denver Public School (DPS) students to get vaccinated at no cost.

• Denver Health School-based Health Centers:Denver Health's School-based Health Centers (SBHC) are a network of 19 health centers located inside DPS campuses and offer no-cost healthcare, meaning, there will be no bills sent home or costs for prescriptions or vaccines. Services at SBHC are available to any DPS student or sibling. SBHC offers convenient care that limits the amount of time students are out of class and parents/guardians have to be off work. Students are able to get same-day or next-day appointments.
• DPSin-school immunization clinics: Some DPS schools will host specific in-school immunization clinics for students and siblings. Check with your school administrator to see if your school in hosting an in-school immunization clinic.

Community vaccine events

Public Health Institute at Denver Health is hosting free vaccine clinics throughout Denver and Denver metro area in July and August. Learn more about times and locations of vaccination clinics on their website.

Required Vaccines

Vaccines required for school include Hepatitis B (HepB/HBV); diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTaP); inactivated poliovirus (IPV); measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) and varicella (chickenpox)

(Note: Students 4 through 6 years of age are required to have their final doses of DTaP, IPV, MMR and varicella prior to kindergarten entry. Students are required to have Tdap prior to entry into 6th grade. One dose of Tdap is required for 6th through 12th grades.)

In addition to these required vaccines, there are other recommended vaccines that provide protection against preventable diseases that can have serious complications and can mean time away from school and work for the whole family: meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, rotavirus, human papillomavirus (HPV), flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Learn more about when your child should get vaccinated and how often by looking at the CDC vaccine schedule.

Vaccine Resources

• COVaxRates.org makes it easy for families to look up vaccination and exemption rates for schools and childcare facilities in Colorado.
• COVax4Kids.org helps people find out if their children are eligible for free or low-cost vaccines and helps them find a provider who gives them.
• ChildVaccineCO.org has more information on routine vaccines, as well as where to find a provider who offers free or low-cost vaccines.

Want More Information?

Vaccines and timely immunization are important for both children and adults and part of keeping our community safe and healthy. Information is available about vaccines and vaccine safety. Check out the child and adolescent immunization schedule by age to ensure you're all caught up before school!

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