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Time saving advice for getting school immunization forms.Oct 15 '00 Write an essay on this topic.Schools are required to keep up with the immunization records of their students. Before a child can start Kindergarten, they must have an up to date immunization form on file. (We call this form the blue card or blue form.) Most of the time, after kids start school, they don't need any more immunizations until somewhere around the 9th grade. If the child has a cut or a burn injury, and they haven't gotten a tetanus shot within the last 5 years, they may need a tetanus booster; however, for general immunization purposes, the tetanus shot is good for 10 years without an injury. Schools typically check once a year to see if a child needs any immunizations. If a child is due an immunization after Kindergarten, it's generally an MMR or a tetanus shot. The school will send a note home with the student saying that their blue form has expired. Sometimes the form is expired because they need this tetanus or MMR shot, and sometimes it's because the date needs to be changed on the form. Regardless of the reason, parents must take their children somewhere and get an updated form. I work at a local family medical center where we give immunizations. At the beginning of the school year, our lobby is flooded with people needing updated blue forms. In most cases, the parents know WELL in advance that their child is going to need an updated form, so why is the lobby flooded? It's flooded because the schools won't let the children back in without the updated card and people wait until the last minute to get them done. For parents with children needing immunizations, I have two pieces of advice. The first is to NOT wait until the last minute. When people flood the lobby at the last minute, the wait times get longer and there is always the possibility that whatever clinic you choose will run out of the the immunization. The second bit of advice is to bring the child's old blue form with you to the doctor's office. The doctor's office can not accurately determine the reason the card is expired unless they have a record of the previous immunizations. It could be that the child is due an MMR. It could be that they are due a tetanus booster. Maybe they need both or maybe they only need a blue form. Without the previous records, immunizations can't be given and a new form completely filled out. In many cases, the person will wait in the lobby only to find out when they are called back that the clinic can not give them immunizations because they don't have their previous records. My clinic tries to tell people when they sign in that they have to have their immunization records with them, but sometimes people slip through. Schools should have a copy of the old blue form. The wisest thing to do is to go by the office at the school and bring a copy of the form with you. It saves a lot of time and frustration. Any time a child gets immunizations, it's best to get a copy of the form and keep it at home. You never know when it will come in handy. Any time you take your child for immunizations, take a copy of the blue form with you; and, PLEASE don't wait until the last minute. It makes it more difficult for you and for the medical staff administering the immunizations.  |
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