Deadline is Tuesday for year-round calendar, September 23 for traditional calendar
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 18, 2011
BURLINGTON – The familiar sea of yellow school buses will paint the landscape in earnest next week. However, for rising sixth-grade students, the trip to school may be short-lived if they are not in compliance with the state’s Tdap vaccination requirement.
The deadline for sixth-grade students attending Graham Middle School, Alamance County’s only middle school on the year-round calendar, is Tuesday, August 23. Alamance-Burlington students attending a middle school on the traditional calendar have until Friday, September 23.
After these dates, any sixth-grade student without a Certificate of Immunization showing proof of compliance shall be suspended from school until the parent or guardian provides certification, as required by law, or shows that the child has started the immunization process.
Beginning Friday and concluding September 30, the Alamance County Health Department will implement their Tdap Fast Track system in the Immunizations Clinic for students needing Tdap only. An appointment is not required. Tdap Fast Track will be available Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. until 11:00 A.M., and again from 1:00 P.M. until 4:00 P.M. Parents are required to bring their child’s shot record on the day of their visit.
“Providing this fast track option for Tdap will give parents with busy schedules more flexibility, without having to make an appointment,” said Christie Sykes, Immunizations Coordinator. “As in years past, as the deadline gets closer, even fast track gets backed up. The sooner parents get this taken care of, the better it is for everyone,” Sykes concluded.
The Alamance County Health Department is committed to making sure school-aged and college-bound students are ready to learn, by making sure immunizations required by law are up-to-date. For questions or more information about immunizations, please call (336) 227-0101.