More than 2,000 county students still without mandatory shots

Unvaccinated students have been barred from school for one month

There are still 2,365 students being held out of school, accounting for about 1 percent of the school system. There were about 2,700 students without immunization on Sept. 20.

Students with proof of an immunization appointment will be permitted into school, but school staff will keep track of the students to make sure they follow through and receive the necessary shots, White said.

State law passed last year requires students in the fifth through ninth grades to get the two shots, which were added to a list of other immunization requirements.

By Jan. 2, the first vaccination deadline in the 2006-07 school year, about 5,800 county students had failed to get required vaccinations. Deadlines were extended, and the school year ended with about 1,000 students still not in compliance.

White said unvaccinated students who miss school would be able to make up missed class work, although weeks out of the classroom could hinder students’ progress. Students will be considered withdrawn from school if they do not have the proper shots, meaning they will have to re-enroll once they show proof of immunization, White said.

‘‘The longer you are out of school, the harder it is to keep up academically,” he said.

White said schools have sent out numerous immunization reminders to parents since the start of the 2006-07 school year.

School and health officials launched an outreach effort earlier this year that included providing free shots. Last month, the school system announced opportunities for students to be transported during the school day to immunization clinics in Prince George’s.

‘‘We’ve obviously done everything we can at this point. The only thing we can’t provide is parental consent,” White said.

Ernestine Nicholson, supervisor of the immunization program at the Cheverly Health Clinic, which has offered free vaccines since August 2006, said the clinic has seen between 20 and 30 school-aged children every weekday since the Sept. 20 deadline.

‘‘It’s a steady influx, but it’s not as overwhelming as it has been in the past,” said Nicholson, who added that August and September are the busiest months at the clinic.

Nicholson said many children who have never received vaccinations come for the first round of shots, but fail to show up for follow-up doses, which build up a lifetime immunity.

Students do not need to finish the series of shots – which can take as long as six months – to return to school, Nicholson said.

On Monday afternoon at the Cheverly clinic, a slow trickle of county students walked in with their parents for vaccination appointments.

Abraham Castaneda of Brentwood brought his son, Edwin, 11, to the clinic Monday after he had missed class at Thomas Stone Elementary School in Mount Rainier for two weeks. Castaneda made the appointment a week after the vaccination deadline, he said, allowing Edwin to return to class. The family lost the appointment information in September and did not follow up on the vaccine requirements until Edwin was barred from school.

‘‘I’m a little bit worried [about the class work Edwin missed],” Abraham Castaneda said.

E-mail Dennis Carter at dcarter@gazette.net.