To help protect your children and others from whooping cough and meningitis, Georgia law requires students to be vaccinated against both diseases. Before starting the school year, all students born on or after January 1, 2002, and entering or transferring into 7th grade will need proof of a whooping cough booster shot and a meningococcal shot unless the child has an exemption. If your preteen has not been vaccinated against whooping cough or meningococcal disease, we strongly recommend getting your child vaccinated. Getting Tdap (the tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis shot) and MCV4 (meningococcal conjugate vaccine) now will not only help protect your child against the ongoing threat of whooping cough and meningitis but will also meet the school entry requirement.
Ask your pediatrician or local health department about other shots your child may need including:
- the human papillomavirus (HPV) 3-shot series
- an annual flu vaccine; and
- catch-up immunizations, including chickenpox, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and hepatitis B.
Proof of both vaccinations must be documented on the Georgia Immunization Certificate (Form 3231). If your child does not have health insurance or their health plan won’t cover these vaccines, call your local health department and ask about getting no or low cost vaccines. For more information about vaccines and these medical conditions, visit http://www.cdc.gov/features/meningococcal/ or http://dph.georgia.gov/vaccines-children or call (800)-848-3868.
Furthermore, effective July 1, 2021, children 16 years of age and older, who are entering the 11th grade (including new entrants), must have received one booster dose of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4), unless their initial dose was administered on or after their 16th birthday.