Florida's Department of Health is warning against procrastination. Public schools do not start another month or more, but the Department is trying to break the habit of students and parents waiting until the last minute to get the necessary vaccines. Immunizations for school are required by law and every year there's always a good amount of parents and students who put it off to the last moment.
"If they don't have those immunizations they can't enter school. And we don't want them to miss the first day of school. So we try to warn the parents, notify the parents early that this is coming, get your shots now, so your child can enter school like all the other children." says Charles Alexander, the Administrator of the State Immunization Program. He's asking everyone to just get started, "a lot of our vaccine require two or three doses in a series and certainly a child can't have all three doses at one visit. So as long as they start the first dose then we allow them back into school."
Over ninety percent of all students receive their immunizations on time. And of course, Alexander says, students with religious or medical reasons are exempt from the requirement.
The department set up the website Immunizeflorida.com for parents looking for more information. In Leon County, public school begins August 20th.