Department of Health Says It’s Time to Update Vaccines

Schools in Park County begin a week from today, and the Wyoming Department of Health reminds parents that families should be up to date with the vaccines they need before the school year begins.
Dr. Alexia Harrist, state epidemiologist and acting state health officer, says that certain important vaccines are required for all youth attending schools and childcare facilities, so for some families, getting ready for the school year may mean a visit to a medical professional for shots.
Harrist assures parents that vaccines are safe and effective, and offer important protection against a number of preventable diseases. She says that in some areas of the country, there have been recent outbreaks of preventable diseases such as measles that had mostly been eliminated from the United States. She says that these outbreaks have been largely due to lower vaccination rates in those areas.
The Department of Health’s Wyoming Vaccinates Important People program provides vaccines, including those required for Wyoming school attendance, at no cost to participating providers for insured, resident children from birth until the day before their 19th birthday. Other children may be covered by the federally funded Vaccines for Children (VFC) program.