More than 6,000 students in Washington's Maryland suburbs returned to school after the holidays only to realize that people were actually serious about a couple of required immunizations. Surprise! According to washingtonpost.com students had until January 1st to get vaccinated.
Students in grades 6 through 9 who had not provided a record of chickenpox and hepatitis B vaccinations -- or, in the case of chickenpox, month-and-year documentation of when they had the disease -- were told they could not return until they had the necessary paperwork in hand. The only exceptions were to be those who arrived with proof that they have appointments to get the shots by Jan. 22.
It's not like the parents and students weren't informed. They had been offered free immunizations for their children and received numerous notes and calls. This sounds like an administrative and paperwork nightmare. Many students were sent home Tuesday while other schools opted to hold them in special rooms. Some jurisdictions are allowing the time between now and January 22nd to be a grace period. It's too bad that the education of students has to be interrupted because rules are ignored.
This reminds me of the old days when they lined us up to get polio shots in school. Our parents just signed the form and sent us to school. Teachers took us to the cafeteria one class at a time to get the shots. I don't remember anyone not going. Times have changed a lot since then.