How to Get the Free Vaccinations You Need in School

Students in New York City are preparing to start classes on September 7th of this year.

That’s why the Ministry of Education is reminding parents to check that their children have the mandatory vaccinations to attend school.

As part of the back-to-school drive, the city’s health department and education department are inviting parents to vaccinate their children.

In New York City, all students between the ages of 2 months and 18 are required to receive certain immunizations.

This includes students from public, private or parochial schools. Also suitable for those who go to a daycare center, preschool or kindergarten.

“It’s important that when children start school, preventable infections don’t spread in schools, especially diseases like measles, chickenpox, and for toddlers and older children, meningitis,” Joseph said. Dr. Luis Velazquez, director of pediatrics at the hospital’s Adabo Clinic in Jamaica.

In New York state, only those who have medical conditions that prevent them from receiving immunizations are exempt from not being vaccinated, the doctor explained.

“For example, a severe allergic reaction in the hospital in a child who nearly died, or a child who had a seizure after a vaccination.”

In 2019, New York State eliminated religious exemptions for required immunizations.

The immunizations required in New York City are:

DTaP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis), poliovirus, MMR (measles-mumps-rubella), chickenpox, and hepatitis B.

Children under five who attend daycare and preschool (pre-K) should be vaccinated with influenza B (HiB) conjugate vaccine and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), as well as influenza and hepatitis A vaccines.

Doctors recommend, although it is not mandatory, that they also vaccinate their children against HPV and Covid-19.

For immigrants who have just arrived in the city and have no medical records of their children’s vaccinations, doctors can help with blood tests to find out whether the minors are immune.

A network of five Joseph Adabo community clinics in Queens and Brooklyn provides free immunizations to children without health insurance. For more information, you may call 718-945-7150.

To find a community clinic that offers free vaccinations, you can call 311.