How well-vaccinated is your child’s school?
The California Department of Public Health has a website where you can find out how well-vaccinated your son or daughter’s child care, kindergarten, or middle school is. It’s called shotsforschool.org.
“I think it could be a great tool. It tells you what percentage of children have been fully vaccinated. It also breaks down what vaccinations might be missing,” said Candace Leonard, program director at YMCA of the Desert.
When you go to the Shots for School website, type in your zip code and a list of child care centers and kindergartens and middle schools in your area will pop up. Each colored marker pin points the facility’s vaccination status.
Red: Most Vulnerable (less than 70% of students fully vaccinated)
Dark Yellow: More Vulnerable(70-79% of students fully vaccinated)
Yellow: Vulnerable (80-94% of students fully vaccinated)
Green: Safest (95-100% of students fully vaccinated)
Blue: Did not report in 2014-2015
“If you’re looking for measles for instance you might find a site that they are fully vaccinated for measles, but behind with Polio or DTaP,” said Leonard.
The Riverside County Department of Public Health said Wednesday being in the red zone isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Leonard’s YMCA location in Indio is one Coachella Valley school in the red.
“There might be a site where children aren’t fully vaccinated. There could be many reasons for that. It could be personal beliefs, religious beliefs or they just need to catch up,” said Leonard.
The YMCA requires all students who opt out of their shots to consult with a doctor.
“It helps protect all of our children when they’re immunized. We do recommend they do so.”
The Shots for School website doesn’t list locations with fewer than 10 students. They won’t appear on the map. Data for children under the age of 2 is also not included.
The health department hopes to soon include high school level vaccination rates.
The website offers information on which shots are required in child care, grades K-12, and colleges.
For more information, go to www.shotsforschool.org
