The decision to immunize your child is a critical one, because vaccines are the single-most effective protection against diseases that threaten our children. If you choose not to immunize your child, it's not only a risk for your child, but for other children in the community. By maintaining our current level of immunity we are still able to hinder infectious diseases. When there are children in the community who are not immunized they are able to pass on viruses and bacteria from person to person, school to school, and from home to home.
Because of the effectiveness of modern vaccines and the increase of “community immunity,” we as a society have become complacent of the fact that diseases like polio, diphtheria, and mumps still exist in the world today. But in fact they do—and thousands of children suffer needlessly every year because they of these diseases. Because immunization efforts in the United States have been enormously successful, we have been able to prevent deadly epidemics that have plagued us in the past. However, we must keep in mind that most of these deadly diseases are only a plane ride away, and are being brought into this country on a daily basis by world travelers and immigrants.
Regular checkups with your child’s physician are an important way to keep your child healthy and to learn about new vaccines that are increasingly becoming available. If you don’t have a medical provider, call Carver County Public Health (952) 361-1329. Public health has immunizations available for low or no cost.
Waconia Public Schools participates in the No Shots, No School initiative. Students who are not up to date on their immunizations will not be allowed to start school until they receive the proper booster shots and provide the school with documentation of these vaccines. Parents may choose to decline immunizations for their child by getting a legal exemption from Minnesota school law for medical reasons or conscientiously held beliefs. A form must be on file at the school.
The district also participates in MIIC (Minnesota Immunization Information Connection), a statewide registry for immunizations. This secured system allows clinics, physician’s offices and schools to share immunization data. Please call your school nurse if you have any questions.
- Early Childhood: All early child care and early childhood programs require children to be immunized with DTaP, polio, MMR, varicella (or physician documentation of chickenpox disease), pneumococcal, Hib, Hepatitis A, and Hepatitis B shots. A child care or early childhood program provider can refuse to admit your child if he or she does not have documentation of either the shots or legal exemption.
- Kindergarten: Minnesota law requires all children entering into kindergarten to show proof of completed vaccination series for DTaP, MMR, Polio, Hepatitis B, and Varicella vaccine (or physician documentation of the chickenpox disease).
- Seventh Grade: All students must show proof of completion of previous immunizations . State law also requires proof of the Tdap (tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis) booster vaccine and meningococcal (Meningitis).
- Students in all other grades must follow the same immunization laws for kindergarten and seventh grades.
District #110 participates in MIIC (Minnesota Immunization Information Connection), a statewide registry for immunizations. This secured system allows clinics, physicians' offices, and schools to share immunization data. Please call your school nurse if you have any questions.
If you have any questions regarding your child's vaccines. please contact your physician or the building nurse at your child's school.