The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the childhood vaccination rates in Kansas and Missouri lag behind those across the United States.
Kansas City area health departments are urging parents to get those back-to-school vaccinations done.
Back-to-school to-do lists consist of backpacks, supplies, learning new school bus routes, and meeting new teachers, but there’s another item to check off the list — vaccines.
Luis Valencia-Bravo, a Kansas City-area student. has big plans for his return to school.
“Basketball, football, and track, my new classes, getting to meet up with friends,” he said.
However, Valencia-Bravo knew there was a little poke and a little paperwork to do first.
KSHB 41 The providers at Johnson County Department of Health and Environment are focused on keeping students in school and learning, so they added some new walk-in clinics for families to take advantage of.
KSHB 41 “We want to see our kids staying healthy, our kiddos staying in school, so we want to make sure we can prevent those absences with vaccine-prevented illnesses,” said Stacie Province, health services division director for JCDHE.