Prepare for a Healthy Return to School

San Rafael, CA - Preparing youngsters for the school year goes hand-in-hand with staying up-to-date with immunizations, and preparing families for COVID-19 education and its prevention on school campuses in Marin County.

Marin County Public Health officials are reminding parents to make sure their children's vaccines are current before the first day of school or child care. Immunizations are considered one of the greatest achievements in public health and medical science and protect children and families from vaccine-preventable diseases.

State law requires that students receive certain vaccines to attend school or child care, unless they have a valid exemption. Some required vaccines include measles and pertussis, or whooping cough. Schools across Marin are sending notices to parents whose children may not beup to date with their vaccinations. Most school-required vaccines apply to incoming kindergarteners and incoming seventh graders.

"Over the course of the pandemic we saw a decline in regular primary care checkups, including visits for routine childhood vaccinations." said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County Public Health Officer. "This leaves schools more vulnerable to outbreaks of preventable diseases like measles. Now is the time to close that gap."

Marin County was impacted by the state-wide measles outbreak in 2015, when local vaccination rates were among the lowest in the state. Since then, school vaccination rates in Marin have increased to 95 percent. "COVID proved again how vaccines can protect us from serious disease in our community. That lesson applies to all vaccine preventable diseases" says Willis.

For children who are not up to date yet with COVID vaccines, Marin Public Health reminds parents that it is safe to get the COVID-19 vaccination at the same time as other routine immunizations.

Routine childhood immunizations can be sought with a medical provider or pediatrician. Clinics offering routine immunizations include Kaiser Permanente, Marin Community Clinics, Marin City Health and Wellness Center, Coastal Health Alliance, Rota Care, Ritter Center, Planned Parenthood, and Passport Health. In addition, local pharmacies such as CVS, RiteAid, Walgreens, and Safeway also offer access to routine immunizations.

The Marin County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Marin County Office of Education (MCOE) are co-hosting an online public health update for the school community at 4 p.m. Monday, August 15, that will offer live Spanish translation and a chance for anyone to ask questions in advance. The session will review COVID-19 and other protocols aimed at lowering health risks in the classroom.

Here are the details:

A question-and-answer session will follow the staff presentation. Questions may be emailed to [email protected]. The session will be recorded and available for later viewing.

Marin HHS offers an updated webpage about how to keep school communities safe from COVID-19, including school-specific guidance, answers to frequently asked questions, and documentation from the State of California. To follow the latest on local trends and statistics with COVID-19 by checking the Marin HHS website.

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