Panhandle Health District

                                                           8500 N. Atlas Road         Hayden, Idaho  83835

www.phd1.idaho.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                Date:     Aug. 1, 2011

Contact:                                                                                  Released by: Lora Whalen, Director 

Cynthia Taggart

Public Information Officer

(208) 415-5108

(208) 818-7288 (cell) 

School-Age Children Invited to Special Clinic

               Hayden – Panhandle Health District will offer a special evening Back-to-School Immunization Clinic for school-age children from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9, at its office in Hayden, 8500 N. Atlas Rd. 

             Appointments are necessary and can be made by calling 415-5270. Vaccines for children through age 18 are free in Idaho, but shots include an administration fee that covers equipment, personnel and storage. That fee is $14 for one shot, $21 for two shots and $26 for three or more immunizations.  

            The special clinic will include snacks and prizes for all kids.

            This year, Idaho increased the number of vaccinations required for children entering kindergarten and seventh grade. 

             For entry into school, children born after Sept. 1, 2005, need:

• 5 DTaP – diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis
• 2 MMR – measles, mumps and rubella
• 4 polio
• 3 Hepatitis B
• 2 Varicella – chicken pox
• 2 Hepatitis A

 Children born after Sept. 1, 1999 through Sept. 1, 2005, need:

• 5 DTaP
• 2 MMR
• 3 polio
• 3 Hepatitis B

 Children born on or before Sept. 1, 1999, need:

• 4 DTaP
• 1 MMR
• 3 polio
• 3 Hepatitis B

 Children entering the seventh grade this year also will need one Tdap, which is a pertussis booster, and one meningococcal.“Vaccinations are one of the single most effective disease prevention measures in the history of public health,” said Mareva Kammeyer, who coordinates PHD’s immunization program.Schedules of required immunizations for children of all ages are available at www.immunizeidaho.org.