LCPS, health department team up for walk-in immunization clinics
Lenoir County Public Schools is partnering with the Lenoir County Health Department to offer walk-in immunization clinics to ensure LCPS students meet state vaccination requirements for beginning the new school year.
The clinics are scheduled for Aug. 31 in the Kinston High School gym lobby, Sept. 14 in the front lobby at South Lenoir High School and Sept. 21 in the front lobby at North Lenoir High School. All clinic hours are 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
The clinics are geared to seventh and 12th-grade students. All students entering seventh grade are required to have Tdap (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) and Meningitis vaccines. HPV vaccine is also recommended for seventh graders. Students in the 12th grade are required to have a booster dose of Meningitis (MCV4) vaccine.
Accepted insurance plans include Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, MedCost, North Carolina Health Choice (NCHC) and Medicaid. Provisions are also made for the uninsured.
Whether children are home-schooled, attend school in-person or by remote learning, they are required by state law to be immunized based on their age for certain vaccinations as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More information on North Carolina’s vaccination requirements for K-12 students can be found on the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) website at https://immunize.nc.gov.
Vaccination requirements for students vary by grade level and begin with kindergarten. For these youngest students, a health assessment must accompany immunizations and a certificate of immunization or valid medical or a bona fide religious exemption are required by schools.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, the state has given students and families additional time to meet proof-of-immunization and health assessment requirements. The executive order issued by Gov. Roy Cooper and a memo issued by State Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Tilson suspends but does not waive documentation deadlines
In typical years, proof of required immunizations and health assessments were required within 30 days of the first date of attendance of school. After the 30 days, children are to be excluded from school until the family provides documentation of requirements. This year, the 30-day “grace period” for all students will begin Oct. 1. NCDHHS similarly delayed immunization requirements in September 2018 during the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.
“Lenoir County Public Schools strongly encourages families of adolescent-age students to take advantage of these clinics provided by the Lenoir County Health Department and asks that families of our youngest students obtain the required immunizations for their children as soon as possible,” Nicole Sugg, the district’s lead nurse, said.
