Pennsylvania has mandated new immunization requirements for all students entering school for the first time in Kindergarten or first grade. In addition to the previous requirements (four doses of diptheria and tetanus, three doses of polio, two doses of measles, mumps and rubella, and three doses of hepatitis B vaccine) students must also provide proof of varicella (chicken box) vaccination or disease.
\nNew regulations also apply to all students entering seventh grade. These students must provide proof of having received three doses of hepatitis B vaccine and must also have had the varicella (chicken pox) vaccination or disease.
\nStudents who have not provided the new information to the school nurse, in writing, will not be permitted to attend classes on the opening day of school on Monday in Tyrone or when school begins Wednesday at Bellwood-Antis.
\nBellwood-Antis Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Rodney Kuhns, stated, \u201cThe new requirements will be enforced in Bellwood. Those students who have not met requirements will not be permitted in school – the law is the law.\u201d
\nKuhns added, \u201cThe Department of Health doesn\u2019t want the kids who haven\u2019t met the new requirements in school.\u201d Kuhns said that this effects primarily seventh grade at the middle and high school at Bellwood-Antis. He added that about ten percent of Bellwood\u2019s seventh grade is not in compliance.
\nMary Saylor, middle\/high school nurse at Bellwood-Antis, said that the purpose of the vaccines are to prevent disease. Something like chicken pox can be serious, and now a vaccination is available.
\nSaylor added, \u201cEventhough the requirement is for Kindergarten, first grade and seventh grade, other students can get vaccinated, although it is not required.\u201d She added, \u201cThe state requires vaccinations to insure that a large percentage of the population gets vaccinated.\u201d
\nBellwood-Antis and Tyrone schools have been in contact with parents of children who are required to receive the new vaccination since last school year. As with Bellwood, the Tyrone School District will also enforce the newly mandated immunization requirements.
\nTyrone elementary school nurse, Brenda Cowger, noted that Tyrone has contacted Kindergarten registration last spring and sent out notices to all students in the elementary. She added, \u201cWe spoke to each individual parent at Kindergarten registration and we\u2019ve made personal phone calls, sent letters out over the summer, along with contacting physician\u2019s offices to help the parents transfer medical information.\u201d
\nCowger added, \u201cWe encourage parents to call the school if they have questions or need help. Our goal is to have all students present on the first day of school.\u201d
\nParents of Tyrone students can contact the school nurses at: Elementary – 684-1342 Ext. 2708. Middle\/High School – 684-4240 Ext. 3710.
\nParents of Bellwood-Antis students can contact the school nurses at: Elementary – 742-2272. Middle\/High School – 742-2274.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pennsylvania has mandated new immunization requirements for all students entering school for the first time in Kindergarten or first grade. In addition to the previous requirements (four doses of diptheria and tetanus, three doses of polio, two doses of measles, mumps and rubella, and three doses of hepatitis B vaccine) students must also provide proof […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48286\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}