Thousands of students haven’t met vaccination requirements

John White, a spokesman for county schools, said 2,643 students had missed a state deadline to either show proof of vaccinations or of an appointment to get them. That deadline passed late last week.

White could not say, however, how many of those students had been sent home.

“There are 207 schools,” White said. “I need to receive that information from our schools and the information that we are routinely seeking is the ones that are out of compliance.”

Starting Monday, if those not in compliance showed up at school without up-to-date vaccination records or proof of a vaccination appointment, they were to be separated from other students and their parents or guardians called to pick them up.

“To be perfectly honest, they’ve got to take some responsibility around this piece themselves,” Board of Education Chairman Owen Johnson said about parents.

Most students who aren’t in compliance have failed to meet new hepatitis B and chicken pox requirements, schools spokeswoman Tanzi West said last week.

Recent state policy requires all students in kindergarten through grade 10 to show proof of hepatitis B and chicken pox vaccinations. Prior to January 2007, only students through grade four needed proof of immunization.

At one point last school year, more than 5,000 Prince George's students were barred from school for failing to meet the new criteria.

West said last week that letters were sent home on more than one occasion to parents of out-of-compliance children and that the school system has been transporting students, with parental permission, to special immunization clinics.

“There is really no reason for them not to have [vaccinations] because it was free,” said Darren Brown, the former president of the Council of Prince George's County PTAs. “There is just no excuse at this point.”

dfowler@dcexaminer.com