Important Changes to Varicella Requirement for School Year 2015-16

Important Changes to Varicella Requirement for School Year 2015-16

Sent on behalf of Trang Kuss, Department of Health, Washington State.
Any questions regarding the information should be directed to Trang Kuss.

The State Board of Health recently changed the two-dose varicella (or chickenpox) vaccine school requirement. As you know, in the current school year, students in K-6th grade are required to have two doses of varicella vaccine.

Preschool and child care immunization requirements:
• The new 2015-16 Vaccines Required for Child Care/Preschool Attendance chart has been posted to our website as well as the simpler chart for parents.
• There are no changes to the preschool/child care immunization requirements from the previous year.

School immunization requirements:
The new 2015-16 Vaccines Required for School Attendance chart has been posted to our website as well as the simpler chart for parents

The main school immunization requirement changes for the 2015-2016 school year include:
1. Varicella requirement
a. Two doses of varicella vaccine are required for K-8th grade. The
varicella requirement will include 7th AND 8th grade in school year 2015-2016
b. In school year 2016-2017, two doses of varicella vaccine will be required for all 9th-12th graders, so all students in K-12th grade will be required to have two doses by 2016-2017 school year
2. The polio requirement applies to kindergarten through 4th grade
a. The final dose given on or after August 7, 2009, must be given on or after 4 years of age AND a minimum interval of 6 months from the previous dose
3. Hepatitis B requirement
a. K-8th grade: Dose 3 must be given on or after 24 weeks of age; minimum interval between Dose 2 and 3=16 weeks
b. 9th-12th grade: Dose 3 must be given on or after 4 months of age; minimum interval between Dose 2 and 3=12 weeks
• DTaP, Tdap, and MMR requirements remain the same as last year.

Please note: The new Certificate of Immunization Status and Certificate of Exemption have been developed and will be required to be used for the next school year for all new students. We are still translating these new forms and plan to post them as soon as possible. We will notify you when they are posted.

Students in the affected grades will be required to do one of the following:
• Get two doses of varicella vaccine, OR
• Show proof of immunity by blood test, OR
• Get healthcare provider verification of history of chickenpox disease, OR
• Submit a Certificate of Exemption.

Since school year 2008-2009, starting with kindergarteners, two doses of varicella vaccine have been required. The requirement moved up a grade each school year, with completion scheduled by school year 2020-2021 for all students in K-12th grade. The State Board of Health wanted to speed up the requirement to completely align with the national Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations that came out in 2006 to recommend two doses of varicella vaccine for all children. Also, we want to make sure adolescents are fully protected against varicella disease since they will more likely experience severe effects and complications if infected later in life.

We have worked closely with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, School Nurse Corps Administrators, and school nurses to gather valuable input about the impact of these changes. We will communicate these changes with healthcare providers and parents and guardians so everyone can be ready for the changes. We know the increased workload this will create, so we would like to support you in any way to make these changes. Please provide any questions, feedback or suggestions by sending an email to oicpschools@doh.wa.gov. We sincerely appreciate your diligence to make sure students are healthy and protected from potential negative effects of varicella disease.

Trang
Trang Kuss, RN, MN, MPH; School and Child Care Public Health Nurse Consultant; Department of Health Office of Immunization and Child Profile
Phone: 360-236-3760; Cell: 360-878-2003; FAX: 360-236-3590

School and Child Care Website: www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Schools/Immunization.aspx

Washington State Immunization Information System: www.waiis.wa.gov