http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20020112-25247848.htm
January 12, 2002
D.C.
students rush to get vaccinations 
By Vaishali
Honawar
THE WASHINGTON
TIMES
D.C. students swarmed to vaccination clinics
throughout the city this week, the first of a three-week campaign to immunize
every child in public school.
But D.C. Health Department records show that as
many as 19,091 children still were not immunized as of yesterday and at risk of
being barred from school.
Under a resolution approved by the D.C. Board of
Education in November, students who cannot show they have received all their
vaccinations by Jan. 25 will not be allowed to attend school. The school board
does not appear willing to extend the deadline.
"I am 100 percent sure that 100 percent of
the children will not be immunized by January 25," said board member Tommy
Wells, who introduced the resolution.
Students who do not meet the deadline will not be
put on the street, he said. "We will round them up and ask their parents
to pick them up [from school] and get the required shots."
Mr. Wells said the immunization effort is part of
the board's plan to "turn the school system around."
"I am shocked that the D.C. control board
did not implement this requirement in the past years," he said.
D.C. law requires all students to be fully
immunized within 10 days of the opening of school, and those not in compliance
can be barred from class. The requirement had not been enforced for nine years,
and school board officials said the time has come for strict enforcement,
citing a scarlet fever outbreak in schools last year and the resurgence of
tuberculosis in the city.
"I am not sure why the schools haven't
enforced this before," said Michael Richardson, deputy director of public
health for the District. "Our responsibility is to make sure we make a
place available, not to make sure they get immunized."
Mayor Anthony A. Williams last week announced a
citywide immunization drive during which free vaccinations will be offered for
three weeks at more than 20 local clinics.Despite long lines at some evening
clinics this week, the response has been disappointing, officials said.
"We are not seeing the success rate we would
love to see," Dr. Richardson said, adding that in many cases they were
still waiting for parents to sign consent forms.
Thursday evening, hundreds of parents and
children lined up at a clinic at Reeves Municipal Center in Northwest. "I
need to do this now because I cannot afford to stay home with the kids,"
said Southeast resident Angel Brown, who brought her two sons.
Northwest resident Helen Amavor took time off
from work to bring in her son, Tony Balbuena, 16, a student of Wilson Senior
High. "This is important, so I have to be patient," she said, waiting
at the tail-end of a line that stretched along two floors of the center.
A study by the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in August found the District among U.S. cities with the
lowest immunization rates for the most common vaccines given to children. The
District had a 66 percent immunization rate last year, compared with the
national average of 73 percent. Maryland had a 75 percent average; Virginia's
average was 71 percent.
Parents and guardians of D.C. school students can
call 1-800/666-2229 for clinic locations.
ALL
INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE
KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO
VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU
ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.