Remember to update your child’s vaccines for start of school year

JACKSON, Tenn. — The countdown has begun to the start of a new school year, and parents across West Tennessee are making last-minute preparations to get their kids ready for school.

Nurse practitioner Haley Long checked a student’s heartbeat Tuesday morning as part of a before-school physical.

“We change constantly, so having that check-up is important,” she said.

With the start of school less than two weeks away, Long wants to remind parents to update your child’s vaccinations.

“There’s four to five for kindergarten that are due, and then seventh grade is always typically the same — a tetanus, a Tdap and a meningitis,” she said.

Long said vaccines are essential to keeping your child healthy, especially in a school setting where disease outbreaks are more likely to occur.

“You’ve really got to immunize against those big, major diseases that are out there,” she said.

And when it comes to getting your child back on their normal routine, school officials say the best time to start is now.

“Going to bed at a certain time, getting them up and getting them used to having a good breakfast, whether that’s home or at school,” school health administrator Annette Wilson said.

Wilson said getting eight to nine hours of sleep is crucial, especially for younger children, so they can get used to getting up earlier.

“Once they walk through those doors, we hit the ground running, and they are ready to go for the day,” she said.

But most most importantly, Wilson said they need to come ready to learn.

“We are just excited and can’t wait to get the kids here and ready to learn,” she said.

School starts for the Jackson-Madison County School System on Aug. 4.

To update your child’s vaccines before then, you can go to the JCT School Health Clinic on Lexington Avenue or your primary health care provider.