New vaccination requirements for adolescents

April 29, 2015

Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D., is urging parents to talk with their child’s doctor about the new school-entrance vaccination requirements, which include meningococcal conjugate vaccination (MCV). In observance of National Infant Immunization Week, April 18-23, IDPH plans to raise awareness of the value of timely vaccinations for infants, as well as for residents across the lifespan.
Beginning next school year, all students entering the sixth and twelfth grades will be required to show proof of recent MCV in order to prevent all students from acquiring this potentially fatal disease. Although disease incidence is at historic lows, the overall case-fatality rate remains between 10 to 15 percent, with between 11 to 19 percent of survivors experiencing long-term sequelae such as neurologic disability, limb or digit loss, and hearing loss.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.