Washington state requires children to be fully immunized against certain diseases before attending school, preschool, or child care. The list of vaccines includes Chickenpox, Diphtheria, and others. According to Dr. Lauren Smith from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, vaccination efforts have saved over 1 million lives in the past 30 years.
However, vaccination rates have dropped since the pandemic, with only 89.6% of students up-to-date on required immunizations last school year. Dr. Smith cites barriers such as out-of-pocket costs for uninsured individuals, limited healthcare accessibility, and misinformation driving mistrust.
To address vaccine hesitancy, providers must listen to concerns and provide accurate information to help inform parents’ decisions. The goal is to gently encourage informed choices, not to impose vaccination requirements on those who are hesitant.
Source: https://komonews.com/news/back-to-school/required-vaccinations-for-back-to-school