Pressroom

Source: Charleston Daily Mail (WV)

By: Harold, Zack

06/26/2012

West Virginia seventh- and 12th-graders will need to get vaccinated against meningitis in order to attend school in the fall. A state law passed earlier this year requires students entering those grade to get the meningococcal vaccine. For incoming 12th graders who have had their initial vaccine, a booster shot must be received after their 16th birthday. Only students with up-to-date shot records will be allowed to attend school. Kanawha County Schools vaccinated 218 incoming 12th-graders and 26 incoming seventh-graders during vaccination clinics held at county middle and high schools before the school year ended in May. The numbers represent about 10 percent of the students who are required to receive the meningococcal vaccine. According to the National Immunization Survey reported last August, only 46 percent of West Virginia 13- to 17-year-olds had received the meningococcal vaccine in 2010.