Double vaccination now required for children

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - The Indiana Health Department is now requiring students in all grades to have two chicken pox vaccinations instead of the previous requirement of one.

According to doctors, contracting chicken pox at a young age is much less dangerous than contracting it as an adult, and prevention at a young age is key.

That's why The Indiana Health Department is now requiring two vaccinations.

But why two?

"The second vaccine basically boosts the first vaccine," Registered Nurse Scott Wood said. "It ensures that there's enough of the weak live virus in the body to build the immunity that's needed to fight off chicken pox."

If a child has already contracted chicken pox, the vaccination is not required, but proof of previously having the disease is.

With many cases of the chicken pox going untreated by doctors, getting that proof worries school officials.

"A tracking nightmare in regards to: Do we take the parents' word for it?" Principal of Burnett Creek Elementary Mark Pearl said. "Does it have to require a physicians statement? What proof would we be required to possess in order to not exclude them for the second vaccination?"

Wood said children with chicken pox who weren't seen in person by a doctor may still be able to prove they've had the virus.

"The chicken pox virus, and the presentation of the child when they do have chicken pox, there's really no doubt about it," Wood said. "They're accepting that as documentation also as long as they discuss it with a physician.

"Besides the chicken pox vaccine, the health department recommends kindergarten students receive two doses of the Hepatitis-A vaccine."

Also, they recommend 11 ^th and 12 ^th graders get a booster dose of the meningitis vaccination.

The Indiana Health department believes these new changes will keep your kids more healthy.