School districts in the Omaha area are dealing with stragglers who haven't yet gotten the second of two state-required varicella, or chickenpox, vaccinations.
As of this week, 200 students out of about 50,000 in the Omaha Public Schools still had not shown proof of either having had the varicella shot or a doctor's appointment to get the shot, said Luanne Nelson, a district spokeswoman.
That's after numerous phone calls, letters and even home visits over the past few months to reach families, she said. The district had set a Nov. 9 deadline for the vaccinations.
In the Millard Public Schools, 10 out of the district's 22,400 students have not yet had the shots or provided documentation, said district spokeswoman Amy Friedman. They do, however, have appointments to get the shots, she said.
In early August, more than 2,000 students in the Papillion-La Vista Public Schools had not yet complied with the new state rule. The district then set an Oct. 1 deadline, said spokeswoman Annette Eyman. "We had a few kids we sent home," she said, "but by the end of the day, they had complied."
Starting with the current school year, the State of Nebraska required that all students have two varicella shots. This was after the national Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices had recommended the second shot back in 2006.
Those who hadn't been vaccinated were allowed to start the school year under a provisional enrollment option. People with religious objections were allowed to submit a document stating that the immunization conflicted with the tenets and practices of their denomination.
Students who already had contracted chickenpox needed to provide documentation of that.
In August, 20,000 OPS students had not had their second varicella vaccination, said Jeanee Weiss, the director of Building Bright Futures' Healthy Futures effort. As of a month ago, that number had been reduced to 1,400, she said.
To help get the remaining nonexempt, unvaccinated OPS students vaccinated, Building Bright Futures' Healthy Futures is working this month with the district, the Douglas County Health Department, Charles Drew Health Center and OneWorld Community Health Centers to sponsor clinics at the school district's high schools.
"Our major goal is to help ensure that kids stay in school so they are able to be engaged," Weiss said.
Clinics already have been held at Blackburn Alternative, South, North and Central High Schools. Clinics are scheduled this week at Bryan (Wednesday), Northwest (Thursday) and Burke (Friday). Benson High's clinic is set for Nov. 29.
Students need parents to sign a form authorizing clinic workers to administer the shot. Elementary or middle school students who go to the clinics should be accompanied by a parent, Weiss said. The shots cost $13 per child, but no one will be turned away if they're unable to pay, she said.
For more information, call Building Bright Futures at 402-715-4145.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1109, bob.glissmann@owh.com
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