Saratoga News

Dept. of Health requires new series of shots for Jr. High kids

Three-shot series takes six months to complete

Parents should plan now

By Michelle Alaimo

Advancing to the seventh grade will soon take more than just passing grades--it will also require three trips to the doctor's office. Beginning July 1, 1999, all students entering the seventh grade will be required to complete a three-dose series of hepatitis B immunizations prior to beginning the 1999-2000 school year, which means that the parents of sixth-graders should start planning now.

The new shot requirement, which takes six months to complete, was approved late last year with the passage of AB 381. Pat Schwarz, a research program specialist with the California Department of Health Services, said that seventh-graders must have at least one of the three hepatitis B shots before they can enter school next year--and those students who have only completed one of the three-shot series must complete the rest of the shots in a timely fashion, or they can be barred from school until the series is complete. Schwarz encourages parents to have their children immunized before school begins to help minimize the amount of follow-up.

Two other new shot requirements are also in the works for seventh-graders, but they are not official yet, Schwarz said. One is a second MMR shot, which is for measles. The possible new regulation is based on a recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Committee on Immunization Practices, two national advisory boards that aid the Health Services Department. She said another shot that is recommended but will not be required is a booster for tuberculosis.

Hepatitis B is a disease of the liver and is one of the first types of cancers that can be prevented by immunization, Schwarz said.

School district costs associated with complying with the new state mandate may be reimbursed, CDHS officials said.

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