HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — August is National Immunization Awareness Month, and local school districts are cracking down on students who may be behind on their scheduled vaccinations.
Henrico County Public Health Nurse Nicole McCurrach said her crew has teamed up with Henrico County Public Schools to administer state-required vaccines before the start of school.
“The last few months, we gave almost 1,100 vaccines. So, we feel like we've gotten Henrico County on a good path for their students to be able to go back to school, and hopefully surrounding areas or have been able to do the same,” McCurrach stated.
Multiple school districts, including Chesterfield County Public Schools, are warning parents that documentation of vaccines must be provided to their school before a student may start, or they may not start on time.
“We're really not playing around when we say you are not going to be able to go to school, and the administration at school is not going to admit you,” McCurrach explained. “We are serious. We are back at the point, pre-pandemic, when this is the way things were.”
A tool on the Virginia Department of Health website provides a better insight into which school districts are behind in those inoculations.
Using data from Fall 2022, VDH said the state public school immunized rate is 79.9% for 12 graders. Henrico tops the list locally with 90.9% of their 12th graders caught up on vaccinations.
Richmond’s 12th graders’ rate is at 67.3% while Chesterfield’s rate is just 32.1% during the Fall 2022.
“We are working closely with the Chesterfield County Public School nursing team to get as many students vaccinated that we can before school starts,” the Chesterfield Health District said in an email. "We’re excited to say that the diligent work of Chesterfield Health District, CCPS, and partner organizations to force-multiply immunization education has resulted in a 41% increase in our immunizations volume compared to January-June 2022."
A Chesterfield Schools spokesperson said the rate may change when nurses return in August.
“Since school nurses are not in schools during the month of July, many of the students who have received vaccinations through private medical providers have not yet been entered into the system,” CCPS spokesperson Shawn Smith stated.
Since March, Chesterfield Schools have warned parents that “your student may not be able to start school on time if they do not have required immunizations.”
McCurrach mentioned that there are religious exemptions that families can seek out for their students. But, she urged families who are behind on shots to reach out to their local health departments and health districts to make an appointment.
