Back-to-School Checklist: Immunizations

As children, teenagers and parents gear up for the 2010-2011 school year in Woodbridge one thing should be added to the preparation list: immunizations.

Students returning to school in September should be up-to-date with their required immunizations.

By law, students attempting to enroll in the sixth grade without proof of tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis immunizations are not allowed to enroll or attend class.

The Prince William Health District monitors the community for life-threatening illnesses and vaccine-preventable diseases.

Recommended vaccines for children and teenagers, as outlined by the Center for Disease Control and supported by the Prince William Health District, include yearly influenza, diphtheria (DTap vaccine), polio, hepatitis B, tetanus -- every five years --, measles, mumps, and rubella, pneumococcal and meningococcal conjugate and varicella for chickenpox.

For girls ages 11 to 12-years-old, the CDC recommends a three-dose vaccine for Human pappilloma virus.

The Woodbridge immunization clinic, located at 4001 Prince William Parkway, is open Mondays from 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 8:15 a.m. - 10 a.m.

Tuberculosis testing is also available at the Woodbridge clinic on Mondays from 8:15 a.m.- 9:30 a.m., but requires a fee.

A rise in vaccine-preventable diseases such as whooping cough, or Pertussis, has been documented in Prince William County.