FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
F. PHILIP HANDY,
Chairman
Members
SALLY BRADSHAW
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LINDA J. EADS, ED. D.
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T. WILLARD FAIR
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CHARLES PATRICK GARCÍA
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JULIA L. JOHNSON
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WILLIAM L. PROCTOR, PH.D.
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JIM HORNE
Commissioner of Education
CONTACT PERSONS
Name:
Mary Jo Butler
Dianne Mennitt
Phone:
(850) 922-3735
Suncom:
292-3735
E-mail:
maryjo.butler@fldoe.org
dmennitt@tempest.coedu.usf.edu
DPS:
03-061
MEMORANDUM
To:
District School Superintendents
From:
Betty Coxe
Date
:
January 30, 2003
Subject:
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KINDERGARTEN AND SEVENTH GRADE
IMMUNIZATION STATUS REPORT 2002-2003
Pursuant to section 1003.22, Florida Statutes, and Chapter 64D-3.011(3),
Florida Administrative Code, the Department of Health (DOH) must
collect annual reports from all public and private schools to certify
compliance with the compulsory school immunization law. The
Department of Education and the Department of Health continue to work
collaboratively to provide technical assistance and support to school
districts and local health departments regarding the implementation of
these requirements.
Please find the enclosed Department of Health Kindergarten and
Seventh Grade Immunization Status Report for 2002-2003. Please note
that statewide, 92.5% of kindergarten students were reported as
receiving all immunizations required for school entry and attendance.
Only 53.8% of seventh grade students were reported as receiving all
immunizations required for school attendance. Approximately 44% of the
seventh grade students had temporary medical exemptions due to the
national shortage of TD vaccine in 2002-03 school year. Now that there
is an adequate supply of TD vaccine, the large number of temporary
exemptions will need to be tracked, monitored, and the database updated
as children receive the TD booster. You may wish to make copies of this
report to disseminate regarding the results and concerns for follow-up
activities with schools in your district.
BETTY COXE
Deputy Chancellor
325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 501 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 413-0555 • www.fldoe.org
Kindergarten and Seventh Grade Immunization
Status Report 2002-2003
January 30, 2003
If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the DOH Immunization
Program Office at (850) 245-4342 or SunCom 205-4342.
Thank you for your assistance with this activity.
BC:dmo
Enclosure
cc:
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Student Service Directors
School Health Services Coordinators
MIS Directors
Student Data Base Contacts
Page 2
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
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DATE:
January 3, 2003
TO:
County Health Department Directors/Administrators
FROM:
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Bonita J. Sorensen, M.D., M.B.A.
Deputy State Health Officer
SUBJECT:
Kindergarten and Seventh Grade Immunization Status Report 2002–2003
INFORMATION ONLY
Each October, all public and private elementary schools and schools with a seventh grade are
required to submit reports indicating the immunization status of kindergarten and seventh grade
students. This information is compiled and sent to the Bureau of Immunization for tabulation.
Attachments 1, 2, 3, and 4 are summaries of kindergarten data, and attachments 5, 6, 7, and 8
represent seventh grade data for the 2002–2003 school year. This information was submitted
by 2,870 schools with 208,393 kindergarten students enrolled and 1,773 schools with 224,039
seventh grade students enrolled.
Purpose:
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To assist in elimination of diphtheria, hepatitis B, pertussis (whooping cough), polio,
measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, and varicella disease in Florida by increasing school
children’s immunization levels.
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To ensure the enforcement of section 1003.22 (previously 232.032), Florida Statutes,
Florida School Immunization Law, and Chapter 64D-3, Florida Administrative Code,
regarding immunization.
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To identify those counties needing assistance to improve the immunization levels in
kindergarten and seventh grade to at least 95 percent.
Results – Kindergarten:
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Statewide, 92.5 percent of kindergarten students were reported as receiving all
immunizations required for school entry/attendance: five doses of diphtheria, tetanus,
pertussis (DTaP) vaccine, four doses of polio vaccine, two doses of measles, and one
dose of mumps, rubella vaccines (preferably as two MMR), three doses of hepatitis B,
and one dose of varicella.
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Students with exemptions from immunization accounted for 7.4 percent of the total
kindergarten population, as reflected in the following: religious exemptions totaled 661,
or 0.3 percent; permanent medical exemptions totaled 441, or 0.2 percent; 30-day
exemptions totaled 1,570, or 0.8 percent; and temporary medical exemptions totaled
12,715, or 6.1 percent. The national shortage of DTaP is reflected in the increase of
temporary medical exemptions.
County Health Department Directors/Administrators
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Page Two
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January 3, 2003
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Twenty-five of the 67 counties, or 37.3 percent, reported that 95 percent or more of
public and private students had received all required immunizations.
Concerns – Kindergarten:
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The statewide coverage level decreased from 93.6 percent in the 2001–2002 school
year to 92.5 percent in the 2002–2003 school year. Temporary medical exemptions
(TMEs) accounted for 82.6 percent of all exemptions, while 30-day exemptions
accounted for 10.2 percent. Children whose DTaP was deferred as a result of the
shortage need to be tracked for completion.
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This year, 55 selected counties were allowed to submit their public kindergarten data
electronically to the Department of Education. While most of these counties’ electronic
data remained within the acceptable range, several still had an excess of students in the
temporary medical exemption, 30-day exemption, or out-of-compliance categories.
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Section 1003.22(10a), Florida Statutes, does not allow students without proper
documentation to attend school; however, 11 counties reported a total of 159 students,
or 0.1 percent, with inadequate documentation of immunizations. These schools are in
violation of the law and these students should be excluded from school until adequate
documentation is provided.
Results – Seventh Grade:
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Statewide, 53.8 percent of seventh grade students were reported as receiving all
immunizations required for school attendance: completion of the hepatitis B series,
a second dose of measles (preferably MMR), and a tetanus-diphtheria booster (Td).
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Students with exemptions from immunization accounted for 45.1 percent of the total
seventh grade population, as reflected in the following: religious exemptions totaled
589, or 0.3 percent; permanent medical exemptions totaled 483, or 0.2 percent; 30-day
exemptions totaled 942, or 0.4 percent; and temporary medical exemptions totaled
99,116, or 44.2 percent. The national shortage of Td vaccine continues to have an
impact on the number of temporary exemptions in the 2002–2003 school year.
Concerns – Seventh Grade:
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Now that there is an adequate supply of Td vaccine, the large number of TMEs from
both last year and this school year will need to be tracked, monitored, and the electronic
database updated as children receive the Td booster.
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Section 1003.22(10a), Florida Statutes, does not allow students without proper
documentation to attend school; however, 22 counties reported a total of 2,360 students,
or 1.1 percent, with inadequate documentation of immunizations. These schools are in
violation of the law and these students should be excluded from school until adequate
documentation is provided.
County Health Department Directors/Administrators
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Page Three
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January 3, 2003
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The number of temporary exemptions could be significantly reduced if all health care providers
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implemented the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule, United States, January–
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December 2002, approved by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the
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American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians, and
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implemented clinical practices outlined in the
Standards for Pediatric Immunization Practices
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A copy of the schedule can be found on the CDC’s Web site at:
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http://www.cdc.gov/nip/recs/child-schedule.pdf. We encourage county health departments to
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work with local community partners to promote implementation.
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The school health nurse or authorized public or non-public school official is responsible for
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follow-up on children with temporary medical exemptions or 30-day exemptions to ensure that
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they complete the immunization series. In addition, cooperative efforts between the school
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health nurse and school administration to update the electronic immunization data will benefit
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both the health and education system. The hepatitis B series, which takes several months to
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complete, and the Td shortage account for the large number, or 44.2 percent, of temporary
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medical exemptions. Using a reminder recall system for subsequent vaccines in the series
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could facilitate completion of the hepatitis B series.
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The strength of this program is a result of the cooperative effort by schools and county health
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departments to protect Florida's children from vaccine-preventable diseases. The Bureau of
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Immunization will continue to support this effort as we work together to eliminate the needless
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threat of vaccine-preventable diseases from our children's lives. If you have any questions, you
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may call Frances Dennard, Bureau of Immunization, at (850) 245-4342 or SunCom 205-4342.
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BJS/cha/fhd
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Attachments
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cc: Mary Jo Butler, Program Director, Intervention and Prevention Services
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Department of Education
Lavan Dukes, Data Base Management
Department of Education
Landis K. Crockett, M.D., M.P.H., Director
Division of Disease Control
Annette Phelps, A.R.N.P., M.S.N., Director
Division of Family Health Services
Shannon B. Lease, M.S., Director
Office of Performance Improvement
Charles H. Alexander, Chief
Bureau of Immunization
County Health Department Nursing Directors
Bureau of Immunization Field Staff