Students caught up on immunizations

Only a handful of Sisters students were held out of classes during "Exclusion Day" on Wednesday, February 19.

Ten Sisters Middle School students either stayed home from school or were held out due to not having all their immunizations. About 550 students were excluded in Central Oregon.

"There just seems to be a certain number of people who wait till the last minute," said school nurse Holly Lange.

The students have to go out and get their shots before they can come back to school.

The exclusion deadline requires that parents provide proof their child has received a whole slate of childhood immunizations. New ones have been added in recent years, including a Hepatitis B vaccine that must be taken in a series of three shots.

"That's when it gets hard for parents to remember," Lange said.

There were no exclusions at Sisters Elementary School. Several students were held in the office at Sisters High School until parents provided paperwork, but no one was sent home.

According to school officials, having schools check up on immunizations is a big help to the Deschutes County Health Department, which lacks resources to individually track immunizations.

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Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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