Parents, grandparents, guardians and babysitters, we’ve made it: the start of the school year is officially just around the corner! Pardon my jubilation but as my daughters recently paraded around the house in new back-to-school clothes, I couldn’t help but click my heels in anticipation (of course I waited until they left the room like any good parent).

 

Look, we are at the approximate point in summer when the nuance of the season has long faded. It’s hot, the kids are restless and moms and dads are exhausted. Our children need to go back to school—whether they want to or not—and it’s our job as parents to get them ready.
 
So yes, get the new clothes, shoes and haircuts. Download the school supply list and stock their backpacks.  But sending our young pupils into the world of academe amply supplied with loose leaf paper is only part of our job as parents. Making sure our children are up to date on all required and recommended vaccines is a far greater responsibility to ensure the health of our kids and our communities.

 

Many school-required immunizations are not one-time vaccines but require booster doses to achieve full immunity.  This can equate to multiple trips to the pediatrician’s office or local health clinic which can throw a wrench in the schedule of busy or working parents.

As an adult, you may have visited your pharmacists for vaccines including influenza, pneumonia, shingles, tetanus, pertussis and hepatitis just to name a few.  Did you also know that your pharmacist can immunize your child against many of the required or recommended vaccines he or she needs?

Vaccine requirements for school-age kids start in Kindergarten.  By this age (4 to 6 years-old), kids should receive booster doses for diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella and varicella according to the Centers Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Beginning at age 11, the CDC recommends vaccine series for meningitis and human papillomavirus and a booster for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.  An additional vaccine targeting meningitis B is recommended for teens age 16 through 18 and for certain teens who may be at higher risk of infection.  
 

 

Under the federal PREP act, pharmacists are permitted to vaccinate anyone over the age of 3 with an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP, the authority on all things vaccine) recommended immunization without a prescription.  

And don’t forget, your pharmacist can vaccinate not only your child, but the whole family against influenza and COVID (pediatric COVID vaccine not available in all locations, ask your pharmacist for details).

Most insurance plans pay for vaccines given at the pharmacy, but your local Brookshire Brothers Pharmacy team can help clear up any questions about coverage.

Letting your Brookshire Brothers pharmacist help in keeping your child or teen up to date on immunizations is a win for both your child and you!  Talk to your pharmacist today about how we can be a part of getting your kiddo ready for school and keeping them healthy all year long.

 

 

Matt Baker is a pharmacist with Brookshire Brothers Pharmacy in Lufkin.  He received his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University in 2005 and his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Houston in 2010.  He writes a monthly pharmacy and wellness article for the Lufkin Daily News and is active in the community.  Matt's passion is serving his patients while ensuring that they are equipped to understand and take their medications properly.