The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

OLYMPIA — As kids across Washington head back to the classroom, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) encourages everyone to get caught up on their vaccinations to help keep families and communities healthy and safe.

Children entering school and child care must meet state immunization requirements. According to 2022-2023 school immunization data, nearly 91% of K-12 students completed their required school vaccinations, which is slightly lower than the past few years. To boost childhood immunization rates, DOH works closely with community and local health partners, and provide childhood vaccinations at mobile health clinics across the state.

“Vaccinations protect children against serious diseases, so they are healthy to attend school and achieve important developmental milestones,” said DOH’s Jamilia Sherls-Jones, Director of the Office of Immunization. “We encourage parents to schedule well-child visits as soon as possible, especially if their children are behind on immunizations.”

As we head into respiratory virus season, DOH recommends children and adults get their flu and COVID-19 vaccines as well. These vaccines help prevent serious illness and hospitalization and reduce disease outbreaks. This year’s flu vaccine is expected to be available in pharmacies and doctor’s offices this month, and many locations have it now. DOH recommends people get their flu vaccine before the end of October to help prevent outbreaks at home, schools, and in our communities. Vaccines are available at no cost for everyone up to age 19 in Washington state and most insurance plans cover vaccines for adults at no cost.

DOH recently unveiled a new design and web location for its COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard at https://tinyurl.com/mrnmevb6 which displays the number of COVID-19 vaccines given and the percentage of people vaccinated.