Health department reminds parents
The Putnam County Health Department reminded parents this week that state law requires that students in pre-K to 12th grade have up-to-date vaccinations before school begins.
Unvaccinated children must receive at least the first dose of all required vaccines within the first 14 days at public, private and religious schools, it said, unless a student has a medical exemption. The state ended non-medical exemptions in 2019.
Vaccination rates among 2- and 3-year-olds in Putnam fluctuate from year to year, the agency noted. Since 2016, the rate has ranged from a low of 59.7 percent in 2018 to a high of 70.8 percent in 2019. In 2022, the most recent year with data, the rate was 67.8 percent, below the statewide benchmark of 70.5 percent set in the New York State Prevention Agenda. In Dutchess, the rate was 64.8 percent.
“A decline in vaccine rates makes outbreaks of diseases like measles more likely,” said Dr. Michael Nesheiwat, Putnam’s interim health commissioner. “This is exactly what happened during the 2018-19 school year when the largest U.S. outbreak in recent times happened here in the Hudson Valley.”
The health department can provide the five vaccinations required for daycare, pre-K and school attendance (diphtheria and tetanus; hepatitis B; polio; measles, mumps and rubella [MMR]; and varicella or chickenpox) plus two additional vaccines required for daycare and pre-K. Call 845-808-1332. In Dutchess, call 845-486-3535 for guidance. For a list of required vaccinations, see health.ny.gov.
The school-based flu vaccine program in Putnam will begin Sept. 25.
