KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Health leaders are reminding families about vaccines children need to get before they head back to school.
State law says if students don’t have an exemption, they can’t return to school unless they are vaccinated. The Knox County Health Department is preparing to vaccinate thousands in the coming weeks. The vaccines are the same, but how children can receive them is different.
Students are required by law to get consent from a parent or legal guardian.
“They do need to be in-person, giving consent this year,” said Dr. Megan Edwards, the Knox County Public Health Officer. “Many pediatricians’ offices and our office are working on ways to make it smoother for parents to get that done.”
Back in April, lawmakers passed a bill prohibiting healthcare providers from vaccinating anyone under 18 years old without informed consent from a parent or legal guardian. Edwards said that means KCHD needs to find ways to allow consent over the phone or through an electronic system.
“But many times that’s going to have to be in person,” Dr. Edwards said. "If parents have additional questions I encourage them to reach out to their pediatrician. They can also call us here at our immunization program. We are happy to answer those questions. We know what vaccines do and that they save lives.”
The new law requires healthcare providers to keep those records in each child’s medical files. If healthcare providers violate this law, they could lose their licenses. Some of the required vaccines include ones for Dolio, DTaP and MMR. As soon as children hit the seventh grade, they must get a Tdap shot.
"In addition, we have recommended vaccines for seventh graders. That’s going to be your HPV vaccine and Meningitis,” Edwards said.
Students cannot return to school without getting the required vaccines unless they have a state-approved religious or medical vaccine exemption.
“Some parents don’t have any problem with it; others ask if it is a requirement so we tell them it’s a state requirement but we also accept exemption forms,” said Melissa Davis, a nurse with Anderson County Schools.
She said more students are turning in exemption forms each year. Both Knox and Anderson counties report an increasing number of student vaccine exemption forms.
"I am concerned with the increasing numbers of waivers you’re hearing about from the school systems. We definitely encourage parents to get their kids vaccinated,” Edwards said.
Edwards says a certain percentage of kids need to be vaccinated to prevent an outbreak.
"There is always a threshold at which we need the population to be vaccinated to prevent the most vulnerable from getting a disease. And so for things like measles, it’s about 85%. So we need 85% of kids to be vaccinated to prevent an outbreak,” Edwards said. “People need to know that they need to get them now because there’s going to be long lines for many pediatricians' offices and here at the health department as well. Please, please, please vaccinate your kids.”
Anderson County nurses said they offer a two-week grace period to get vaccinations. Knox County must have all immunizations by the first day of school. Families that don't have health insurance can get vaccines for free by visiting their local health department.
To find a full list of state-required vaccines, click here.