Three area health agencies are cooperating to amplify a single message: The leaders of Cincinnati’s, Hamilton County’s, and Northern Kentucky’s health departments say make sure your kids are vaccinated.
Hamilton County Public Health Medical Director Dr. Steve Feagins says the timing isn't coincidental.
“Return to school is an important point in time for making sure that your vaccines are up to date,” he says. “In fact there’s school requirements that are part of state law: when you start kindergarten there’s a couple extra; when you start seventh grade; and one more meningitis vaccine when you start high school.”
He says vaccines also are needed for students going off to college.
“The key thing is that starting back to school is when everyone comes together, breathing on each other, bringing everything from all the summer all together. That’s why pre-school vaccines are so important.”
Feagins says in Ohio, about 91% of kids are vaccinated against measles. He says the magic number for herd immunity is 95%. Herd immunity is the idea where enough of a population is vaccinated that even those who aren't are unlikely to catch an infection.
He says vaccination rates have been dropping, and there's no single answer why. He says the drops are not huge, but they are enough to disrupt herd immunity.
“Preschool vaccines are so important. Especially for those that have high rates of transmission, like measles.”
Influenza claimed the lives of 266 children in the United States in the last season. Local health officials are pointing out there's a vaccine for flu, and for many other diseases.
Feagins says if parents are concerned about the cost, there's the federally funded Vaccines for Children program for those who qualify.
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