Health Officials Encourage Parents To Vaccinate Children Before School

Upper Cumberland health officials encourage parents to vaccinate their children prior to the start of the new school year.

Sara Smith is a registered nurse for the Putnam County Health Department. She said not vaccinating children can put others at risk.

“It’s important to vaccinate your child most importantly for their health, but also your child can affect others in the community,” Smith said. “Children that aren’t vaccinated can transmit these diseases to schools and the people they go to school with.”

Smith said infants under the age of two months are unable to receive vaccinations, putting them at a greater risk of contracting diseases.

“Children can infect babies who aren’t fully immunized. If you’re child’s around babies [younger than] the age of two months, then they’re also making those babies at risk,” Smith said. “Also, people that have cancer or they’re going through chemo, have low immune systems, or may people that are on medication that suppresses their immune systems, those people are at risk as well.”

Smith said vaccinating children can protect them from several harmful diseases such as Hepatits A and B or the Measles virus.

“Giving your child all the recommended vaccines is the best way to protect him or her from 14 serious childhood diseases. It’s the powerful defense that’s safe, proven, and effective,” Smith said. “We do recommend getting it done as soon as possible just because you want to get a head-start on things and you don’t want to have to worry about getting your child vaccinated right before school.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of Measles cases in the United States has more than tripled from 2018 to 2019 as over 1,000 cases have been reported nationwide. The CDC reports the disease was declared eliminated nearly 20 years ago.

Students in Putnam County returned to school Tuesday with Cumberland County students starting their school year Thursday. Other Upper Cumberland districts are scheduled to begin their new school years next week.