State health officials encourage parents to make immunization appointments for their children before the school year starts. “There’s a basic set of immunizations that are required for entering into kindergarten,” said Dan Hopfensperger, Program Director of the Wisconsin Immunization Program. “If the child goes to their physician regularly, or to the local health department and gets the recommended immunizations, they would be compliant with the school immunization law.” Parents who don’t have insurance can get their child from their local health department, or through the Vaccines For Children program.
Hopfensperger said there’s an awareness that many parents have concerns about the safety of vaccinations. “We have been fairly successful in the state of Wisconsin, as far as children getting the recommended immunizations. We fare pretty well compared to the rest of the country, but is something we always have to be concerned about,” he said. “Immunization is still the best way to protect children and adults from easily communicable diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella.”
Immunizations not only protect vaccinated kids, but they also help protect entire communities, by preventing and reducing the spread of infectious diseases.