Parents must provide schools, child care facilities with kids’ vaccine records

Feb. 7, 2023 (Astoria, OR) —Clatsop County Department of Public Health reminds parents that children may not be able to attend school or child care on Wednesday, Feb. 15 if their records show missing immunizations.

Wednesday, February 15 is School Exclusion Day and under state law, all children in public and private schools, preschools, Head Start and certified child care facilities must have up-to-date documentation on their immunizations or have an exemption.

“Immunization is the best way to protect children against vaccine-preventable diseases such as whooping cough and measles,” said Jiancheng Huang, public health department director. 

Just a few years ago, several measles cases were reported in the Northwest, and Central Ohio just experienced a severe measles outbreak with more than 30 unvaccinated children hospitalized, said Stacy de Assis Matthews, school law coordinator at the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) Public Health Division.

“There also were recent polio cases in New York state. We don’t want another disease outbreak in Oregon of on top of COVID-19. Immunizations are the most effective way to stop the spread of measles and other diseases, to keep kids and school communities healthy and safe,” she said.

If a child’s school and child care vaccination records are not up to date by Feb. 15, the child will be sent home if they don’t have an exemption. In 2022, Clatsop County sent approximately 300 letters to parents and guardians informing them that their children needed immunizations to stay in school or child care. This year, approximately the same number of reminder letters were mailed.

Parents seeking immunizations for their children should contact their child’s pediatrician or Clatsop County Public Health Dept. at 503-325-8500, or contact 211Info by calling 211 or visiting 211info.org. 

No one will be turned away from a Clatsop County Public Health Dept. because of the inability to pay for required vaccines. Many pharmacists can immunize children 7 and older. Parents can contact their neighborhood pharmacy for details.

Additional information on school immunizations can be found at the Immunization Program website.

Statewide school vaccination data is available on the OHA website, or at OHA’s new School Law Immunization Dashboard.

“We want to make sure people understand why vaccines are important,” Huang said. Links below provide more information.

Personal stories on why people in Oregon are deciding to vaccinate can be viewed by visiting OHAs Facebook and Twitter pages. OHA also invites people to join the conversation and share why they vaccinate by using the hashtag #ORVaccinates on social media.

As a parent, Dr. Choo talks about why she vaccinates her children: https://youtu.be/aDy7sseKs24

Reverend Dr. Currie discusses whether there are legitimate reasons for religious exemptions: https://youtu.be/D6XnPm1N4iQ

Hear how Sarah’s powerful conversations changed her mom’s long-held views on vaccinations: https://youtu.be/dPB2sfySwJQ

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