• By Yalonda Galloway
• Posted Thursday, September 17, 2015

Attention Parents of Kindergarten & 7th Grade Students

The school year has started and Forsyth County Department of Public Health wants to remind parents about the required school vaccines for 2015-2016. Children starting Kindergarten and 7th grade are required to have specific vaccines to protect them from serious diseases.

Kindergartners are required to have:

• two doses of varicella (chicken pox) vaccine if they do not have a history of disease documented by a health care provider;
• and the 4th (or 5th) dose of polio vaccine must be given after 4 years of age and before entering school for the first time.
• *All kindergartners are required to have a physical exam signed by their physician. For more information, contact Caren Jenkins at 336-703-3274.

According to the NC Law, seventh graders are required to have:

• one dose of Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis);
• and one dose of meningococcal vaccines if they have not previously received these vaccines.

Children must have their immunizations up to date, and those that do not will not be allowed to return to school on Thursday, September 24, 2015.

Come to Clinic 3 at the Forsyth County Department of Public Health at 799 N. Highland Avenue, Winston-Salem, during the following hours to get the required vaccines:

• Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 8:30am-3:45pm
• Thursday 9:30am-6:45pm
• Friday 8:30am-11:45am

The immunization clinic is a walk-in clinic and does not require appointments. Children with no insurance or Medicaid pay no out of pocket fee for immunizations. We do not accept credit cards or private insurance. For more information about the required vaccines, contact Felicia Lovett, Immunization Program Manager at 336-703-3314 or www.immunize.nc.gov.