Where to get your child vaccinated?
Free or low-cost options:
Butler County Health Department's immunization clinic for children accepts walk-ins from 1 to 1:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday and appointments only from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Monday and Wednesday at 301 S. Third St., Hamilton. Call 513-887-5253. Bring immunization record.
On the third Friday of every month, a walk-in immunization clinic is held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Oxford Family Resource Center, 5445 College Corner Pike, Oxford. Call 513-523-5859. Bring immunization record.
The city of Hamilton's immunization clinic is from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at St. Raphael, 610 High St., and from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday at Fitton Family YMCA, 1307 NW Washington Blvd. Walk-ins only. Bring immunization record.
Visit your own doctor or nurse practitioner, an urgent care or clinics inside Walgreens or Kroger.
Many families are in busy back-to-school mode with the need for new school supplies, updated sports physicals and proof of required immunizations to protect against disease.
The Butler County and city of Hamilton health departments offer low-cost immunization clinics for children.
“This time of year all of our clinics fill up quickly,” said Jennifer Bailer, director of nursing, Butler County Health Department.
Required immunizations for school in fall 2015 are DTaP to protect against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis; polio; measles, mumps and rubella; hepatitis B; and chickenpox, according to Ohio Department of Health. Starting in the 2016-17 school year, Ohio lawmakers have added the meningococcal vaccine to the list of required immunizations for schoolchildren.
“I like that Ohio is finally catching up with some of the states that already have it,” including Indiana, said Dr. Marc Richardson, MD FAAP, of Pediatric Associates of Fairfield.
Betsy Waldeck, RN, manager of the immunization clinic in Butler County, said Ohio’s required vaccinations include those for babies and before entering kindergarten and seventh grade.
About 69 percent of young people in Ohio are vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationally, the vaccine rate is close to 78 percent.
“A lot of parents, especially kindergarten parents, are overwhelmed and surprised their kids need another set of shots,” Waldeck said.
Richardson said August is the pediatric practice’s busiest month with families coming in for immunizations or physicals for student-athletes.
Richardson said despite the proved effectiveness and safety of vaccinations, he will still encounter parents who are hesitant and citing “bad information” they read online.
“That it causes autism and other disorders …. that’s been disproved by science time and time again but it continues to circulate rumors,” Richardson said. “The diseases we’re trying to prevent are really awful,” with some causing death and disfigurement.
Richardson said of the preventable diseases, pertussis and measles are the most dangerous, especially to infants or children who can’t get certain immunizations due to having cancer or other medical issues.
Students get 15 days from enrollment to have their immunizations up to date, according to Hamilton City Schools.
“A lot of school nurses have a difficult task at hand,” Richardson said of the start of a new school year. “They’re tracking down all the kids starting kindergarten and all the paper work.”
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