The Willow Glen Resident

New series of shots required for all junior high students

By Michelle Alaimo

Advancing to the seventh grade will soon take more then 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 shot in the three-shot series must complete the rest of shots in a timely fashion, or they can be held from school until the series is complete. However, Schwarz encourages parents to have their students 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.

The Immunization Branch of the CDHS estimates that 85 percent of students entering the seventh grade in 1999 will need to start the hepatitis B series. An estimated 90 percent will need their second MMR and TB booster.

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.

California law does provide exemptions to those with personal beliefs or medical exemptions that prohibit the student from having the shots. A release form must be filled out at the school level to qualify for the exemption, Schwarz said.

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

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