Nearly 90% of DC students meet back-to-school vaccine deadline
Monday was the deadline for D.C. students to be up to date on their back-to-school vaccines, and the school district reported that almost 90% of 23,000 students got their shots on time.
Despite the high success rate, about 2,300 students did not receive the required vaccinations, according to the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education.
Fort the most part, those children will not end up being “temporarily excluded” from school for not complying by the Dec. 8 deadline. According to the state superintendent’s office, many of them are exempt for religious or medical reasons or had those types of exemptions pending.
The exemption also applied for students experiencing homelessness or students who had proof of appointments to receive the required vaccines before Dec. 31, according to officials.
The key grades for getting vaccinated are pre-K, kindergarten, 7th and 11th — students in those grades are at ages where they’re due for booster shots.
The numbers of unvaccinated students dropped this year, the office said. Last year, more than 2,500 students had not received immunizations by the deadline, and fewer than 300 students were temporarily excluded.
This year, the office said 71 schools had an immunization rate of 95% or higher, including 15 schools that reached a 100% immunization rate.
Families of students who have been excluded should immediately make an appointment with their child’s primary care provider or visit D.C. Health’s website to search for pediatric vaccination sites, the office advised.
“Fortunately, last year we found that on average excluded students missed less than 4 school days,” a Superintendent of Education office spokesperson said in a statement.
On Dec. 4, D.C. leaders urged families to make sure their kids were caught up on back-to-school vaccines or they’d risk missing class until they are.
At that point, about 85% of students across the city were in compliance with the requirements, according to D.C. Health Director Ayanna Bennett.
Howard University’s faculty practice on Georgia Avenue is offering walk-in vaccinations Tuesday, Bennett said, and vaccinations will also be offered at Saturday’s EdFEST.
Cedar Hill Urgent Care is also offering back-to-school vaccines, Bennett said.
Broadly, the city has been making progress, Bennett said. Four years ago, 79% of kindergartners had received the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine. Last year, 93% of kindergartners got it.
WTOP’s Scott Gelman and Diane Morris contributed to this report.