School Starts Soon – Get Vaccinated
It’s the time of year again, parents, where you need to make sure your children are up-to-date on vaccines before sending them back to school. Every school-aged child from pre-school to high school needs to be fully vaccinated before school starts.
Making sure our children get all their vaccinations on time is one of the most important things we can do as parents to ensure their health and the health of their friends, classmates, even our community.
The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH), the New Mexico Primary Care Association and the New Mexico Immunization Coalition are again collaborating to get all New Mexico children immunized on time.
NMDOH, and the New Mexico Immunization Coalition in partnership with Allen Theatres next month will hosting their annual immunization event at the Cineport 10 movie theater at the Mesilla Valley Mall on August 11, 15 and 16 from 9 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. all three days.
You don’t have to wait that long if you don’t want to though. You can get your vaccinations from your health care provider, or if you’re uninsured from NMDOH’s Las Cruces Public Health Office at 1170 North Solano. Call 575-528-5017 for an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome. Just remember your wait time may vary.
Vaccinating our children isn’t just a duty – it’s the law. In New Mexico, parents are legally required to see that their children going to school are vaccinated against diseases such as polio, measles, whooping cough, and chickenpox. Exemptions are only granted for religious or medical reasons.
The reason is for the good of overall public health known in the medical community as ‘herd immunity’. Herd immunity is when a sufficient number of people are immune to an infectious disease (through vaccination and/or prior illness) to make its spread from person to person unlikely. Even people not vaccinated (such as newborns, or people with chronic illnesses) gain some protection they wouldn’t have otherwise because the disease has little opportunity to spread within the community.
Check with your child’s doctor to find out what vaccines they need this school year, because it varies by age. You can find the nearest vaccination locations in Las Cruces and throughout New Mexico on our Public Health Offices page or visit the Office for Community Health website.
Media Contact
We would be happy to provide additional information about this press release. Simply contact David Morgan at 575-528-5197 (Office) or 575-649-0754 (Mobile) with your questions.
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