MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County School District is worried enough about the measles outbreak; district employees are now checking student records to make sure everyone’s been vaccinated.
Parents who have a child whose records do not indicate they have the MMR vaccine will be notified.
SCS has health clinics that can provide the shots.
There are medical and religious exemptions for vaccinations.
Immunization requirements can be found on the SCS website.
There are six confirmed cases of the potentially deadly virus in Shelby County right now.
Several more Mid-Southerners are under observation after being exposed.
You can find complete coverage of the measles outbreak on this page.
It’s best to be prepared, not scared.
Example letter from SCS:
Dear Parent,
You should have received information recently from the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD) about the outbreak of measles in the county.
We have NO reported cases of measles in any of our schools; however, we are working closely with the SCHD to ensure parents have as much information as possible about measles and how to prevent it. As the letter from the SCHD explains, the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine is the best way to prevent measles.
Shelby County Schools requires all students to have two (2) doses of the MMR vaccine in order to register for and attend school. There are certain state and federally approved exemptions for vaccines, such as religion and personal health; however, any child without an approved exemption on file must be up to date on all required vaccinations in order to attend school.
Our records show that your child has not received either of the two required doses of the MMR vaccine. To ensure the health and safety of all of our students, your child must receive the first dose of the MMR vaccine before returning to school this year. If he or she will be attending an SCS summer school program, the second dose must be completed prior to starting. Otherwise, the second dose must be completed before beginning school in August.
To fill out an approved immunization exemption form you are required to submit a religious explanation or provide a letter from your healthcare provider.
We have four Student Health Clinic locations throughout the District that provide required immunizations. Call (901) 531-6321 to make an appointment at any of the clinics listed below.
- East High School, 3206 Poplar
- Northside High School, 1212 Vollentine
- Sheffield Career & Technology Center, 4350 Chuck
- Westwood High School, 4480 Westmont
You can also contact the SCHD Immunization Clinic at (901) 222-9331 or the SCHD main line, (901) 222-9000, as well as your personal family healthcare provider.
Your child’s health and safety is very important to us, and we appreciate you taking the necessary steps as soon as possible to limit the number of missed school days.
For additional questions or concerns, please call [School Contact]
Respectfully,
[Principal]
Here's additional info about letters being shared with some families in SCS about their child's shot records. pic.twitter.com/4gzFWodrsy
— Shelby Co. Schools (@SCSK12Unified) May 4, 2016
[findthebest id=”q6m7BucSMd” title=”Measles Overview” width=”600″ height=”638″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/q6m7BucSMd” link=”http://conditions.healthgrove.com/l/653/Measles” link_text=”Measles Overview | HealthGrove”]
