NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WVEC) – On Wednesday it was busier than normal at the Peninsula Health Department with hundreds of families coming in to get required immunizations for their children.
Soon-to-be eighth grader, Jennifer Bell has most of her school supplies and all of her required school immunizations.
“It hurts a lot,” she said.
The temporary pain from required vaccines such as T-dap, MMR or Varicella will provide long-term health protection.
“They can get sicker. They're going to be more susceptible for any disease and I don't want that for my kids,” her grandmother Rosio Castillo says.
Neither do health department officials who say outbreaks of measles, chicken pox and whooping cough still happen.
“We're trying to prevent those diseases that can be more devastating to that child,” Deborah Moore with the Peninsula Health Department says.
But the vaccines themselves can be more devastating to children, claim groups like the National Vaccine Information Group. It’s President, Barbara Fisher says "Families, who have never vaccinated their children and are consciously avoiding toxic environmental exposures; eating organic and employing natural health options for healing and staying well, report that their children quickly recover from acute infections without complications and are athletes and honor roll students."
Health Department staff are also trying to prevent kids from missing that all important first day of school.
“They're not even going to get through the front door if they're not immunized properly,” Moore says.
Here are some free, upcoming clinics across the area:
NORFOLK
Norfolk Public Health
830 Southampton Ave
Norfolk, VA 23510
Clinic open Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 1 pm to 4 pm
Little Creek Multi-Service Center
207 E. Little Creek Road
Norfolk, VA 23505
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:30 am to 10:30 am, and from 1 pm to 3:30 pm
Parents should bring a photo ID, insurance card, and their child's immunization records.
For more information, call Norfolk Dept. of Public Health at 757-355-5666
VIRGINIA BEACH
The Virginia Beach Department of Public Health will provide free Tdap vaccinations for rising Virginia Beach sixth-graders on Saturday, Aug. 27.
The free vaccinations will be available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Health Department office at 4452 Corporation Lane in Virginia Beach. No appointment is necessary, but a parent or legal guardian must be present. Parents must bring a photo ID, insurance card and their child’s current immunization record.
Tdap shots are also available through the Health Department’s immunization clinic. For more information, including clinic days and times, call (757) 518-2700.
HAMPTON
The Hampton Health Department will have extended hours on Aug 31 for parents who want to get back-to-school shots for their children.
The immunization clinic will be open Wednesday, Aug. 31, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., located at 3130 Victoria Boulevard in Hampton.
Parents should bring their child's shot records and insurance card to the clinic.
Regular hours are 8-11:30 a.m. and 1-3:30 p.m.