Children Ill Prepared For School Year

Ill prepared children are showing up for school ill prepared because they don't have the proper immunizations. It's leading to disappointed children and a crowd at the health department. The News On 6's Emory Bryan reports the state requires six immunizations for children going into kindergarten or Pre-K.

That can be a problem for parents who don't find out about it until the first day of school.

The waiting room at the health department started getting crowded several weeks ago, but even more people showed up when Tulsa students went back to class Monday.

Susan Burrus didn't really wait until the last minute, she and her two children just moved to Oklahoma last week.

"They are missing their hepatitis A shot," said Burrus.

That's one of the shots Oklahoma requires. The health department provides the service for free and not just right before the start of school.

"Those immunizations can be given any time between the ages of four to six, so you don't have to wait until right before they start kindergarten to get them ready for school," said Melanie Christian of the Tulsa Heath Department.

At the elementary school clinics loose teeth are a more common problem. But students without their shots put the staff in the uncomfortable spot of sending kindergartners back home with their parents.

"We tell them before school starts of course that they have to have their shots and if they show up without them we don't enroll the four and five year olds, if they don't have their shots, they're not supposed to go to school," said Mary McClain of Eugene Fields Elementary. 

Back at the health department, the crowd is divided into lanes based on whether or not the paperwork is ready. Parents sometimes have to get medical records and that takes time.

Naomi Burrus is getting the shot she needs to be ready for pre-school Thursday morning. She and her brother in the 3rd grade will start school in the Union district, getting the shots they need just in time.

The requirements for immunizations come from the state so they're the same for every school district.