ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C. -- The first week of school is already hectic for many families, so the Onslow County Health Department is trying to make life easier by teaming up with county schools for an immunization clinic program.
- The vaccine outreach program travels so Onslow Co. high school and middle school students can get vaccinated
- Parents can pick and opt out of which vaccines they want their kids to have
- The health department provided 1,897 vaccines during the 2017-18 school year
“We have a vaccine outreach program, we won the Samuel L. Katz award unanimously for the entire state of North Carolina," bragged Children’s Health Supervisor for Onslow County Health Department, Whitney Jezek.
The outreach program is for all students attending Onslow County high schools and middle schools. Elementary schools don’t have mobile vaccine clinics because their students often require lab work to be completed as well.
All parents need to do is to fill out a packet they received at the beginning of the year, attach a current shot record and sign the consent form. They then pick which vaccines they want their child to have. They can opt out of ones they don’t want.
All requests will be verified with the students’ medical records so they don’t receive something they already have.
In North Carolina, parents have 30 days to get their children vaccinated in order to continue attending public school.
“We will bring the vaccines to school, vaccinate your child. They are removed from class for maybe 15 to 20 minutes. They get their vaccinations and they go back to class. There's no lost academia, there's no lost work on your part as a parent. And your child is vaccinated," said Jezek.
Middle schools start their vaccine clinics on September 24 and the High Schools begin Oct. 1.
Through the Immunization School outreach program, health department staff immunized 1,430 students in Onslow County, providing 1,897 vaccines during the 2017-2018 school year.