With the 2025-26 school year coming up next week, there is still time to get the required immunizations for youth to attend public school.
Greene County Public Health Director Shelby Cooklin says younger students must get Tdap (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio), MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella), the common chicken pox vaccine and Hepatitis B. She states that for older students, they have to get Tdap and Meningococcal immunizations to be able to go to school. Cooklin explains it is important for youth to get these vaccines to not only protect themselves from infectious diseases, but also to build herd immunity.
“These vaccines have gone through rigorous testing and monitoring, and have proven to be both safe and highly effective. Diseases like measles and whooping cough can be dangerous and even deadly, especially for young children. And vaccines have significantly reduced those risks.”
Click the links below to get more information on the required vaccines for school-age kids from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the types of documents for the school nurse to have on file from the Iowa Department of Education.
Iowa Department of Health and Human Services: https://hhs.iowa.gov/media/15137/download?inline
Iowa Department of Education: