Keep students’ shots up-to-date or they could face ‘suspension’

The Department of Public Health is calling on parents to keep their children’s vaccination shots up to date, as the Immunization Program plans to begin implementing a law that would allow the “suspension” of students who are found noncompliant with the law.

Citing the importance of immunization, Jeremy T. Sasamoto said yesterday that all students in public or private schools “have to be up to date with their shots.”

Sasamoto said a majority of the public are not aware of Public Law 6-10, which requires parents to keep their children’s shots up to date.

He said parents will receive a notification of delinquency if their children do not have up-to-date shots, adding that these parents will “have two weeks to take action.”

“If not, their child can be suspended from school until all shots are up to date,” said Sasamoto at the flu shot event at the Aging Center.

These vaccination shots, based on the CNMI Recommended Immunization Schedule, are:

-Hepatitis B at birth;

-DTaP, E-IPV, Hib, PCV13, Rotavirus, and Hepatitis B for children 2 months old;

-DTaP, E-IPV, PCV13, and Rotavirus at 4 months;

-DTap, E-IPV, Hib, PCV13, Rotavirus, and Hepatitis B at 6 months;

-MMR, and Varicella or Chicken Pox at 12 months;

-DTap, PCV-13, and Hib for 15-18 months;

-DTaP, E-IPV, MMR, Hepatitis A, and Varicella at 4 to 6 years old; and

-DTap, MCV, and Hepatitis A at 11 to 18 years.

Sasamoto disclosed that they will start their educational outreach campaign about the need for immunization starting Wednesday next week.

He said they will begin the outreach at the Public School System’s Head Start Centers once they get the roster. If not, then they will start with elementary schools on island.

“We will start enforcing the law beginning November,” added Sasamoto.

The program manager noted that their office “will provide the additional shots at schools for their convenience” if a child is not up to date with the required shots.

According to Sasamoto, there is “a lot of misinformation” circulating that causes parents not to get their children immunized with certain vaccines.

For example, there are those who believe that the MMR vaccine is related to autism, based on a study conducted by Dr. Andrew Wakefield that “caused worldwide scare.”

Sasamoto, however, dismissed this, saying that the research study was later discovered to be fraudulent.

Another example is a “preservative” believed to be added to the MMR vaccine and linked to autism.

“But that preservative hasn’t been used since 1995 and there is no scientific evidence that shows its link to autism,” explained Sasamoto.

He emphasized that “vaccines are safe and cost-effective.”

With the start of their flu vaccination campaign, Sasamoto said they will be handing out consent forms to parents for their children to get the flu shots.

Attached to the consent form is the letter regarding the law and the need to have the students’ shots be kept up to date.

To get your child immunized or for more information, call 236-8745, 236-8780, 236-8781 (Saipan), 433-9233 (Tinian), 532-9457 (Rota).