St. Joseph Health Department offers back-to-school immunizations
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- As the first day of school approaches for the St. Joseph area, the Health Department is looking to make sure students are up-to-date on immunizations before classes begin.
The St. Joseph Health Department will provide immunizations at its clinic, located at 904 S. 10th St.
The clinic will only take walk-ins for school immunizations from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; no appointments will be accepted.
In addition, the clinic will only offer school immunizations from Wednesday, Aug. 19 through Wednesday, Aug. 26. No other services will be offered during the week-long time period.
Clinic staff advise arriving before 10:30 a.m. for morning sessions and before 3:30 p.m. for afternoon sessions to avoid the biggest crowds.
Families coming in Tuesday, Aug. 25, and Wednesday, Aug. 26, will face substantial waits in addition to missing the first days of school.
The first day of school for the St. Joseph School District is Tuesday, Aug. 25, and local private schools will have their first days starting next week.
Any resident can use the health department's immunization services, but all children must be accompanied by a person 18 or older, and the adult must present a photo ID. Adults should also bring an insurance card, if they have one, and a record of the child's previous vaccinations, if available.
According to a City news release, students typically need to have their immunizations up to date at three points during their school years.
The times and required shots include:
- Entering Kindergarten: Tdap, polio, MMR and varicella
- Entering eighth grade: Tdap and meningococcal
- Entering senior year of high school: Meningococcal
The health department also offers the optional HPV vaccine to anyone 11 or older.
Additionally, the city said anyone seeking religious exemptions for immunizations should consult the Centers for Disease Control's website, and students needing a medical exemption should visit their family health provider. The health department does not provide these forms.
