(Photo: Discover Airdrie News Centre)

Vaccinations have been offered in Alberta's schools for several decades, and a new round of vaccines will be making it's way to Rocky View Schools.

"We have a long history of administering vaccine in their school programs," says Dr. Judy MacDonald, Calgary Zone Medical Officer of Health with Alberta Health Services (AHS). "The public health nurses make a date with the school administration to come in."

The public health nurses serves as AHS liaison to the school where they offer vaccination programs for students in Grade 1, Grade 5 and Grade 9.

If children have not been immunized in preschool, they will have the chance to catch up and receive vaccinations for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, mumps, rubella, and varicella.

Once in Grade 5 parents have the chance to allow there kids to receive the Hepatits B, human papilloma virus (HPV), and varicalla (chicken pox) vaccination.

"There's an individual consent that is sent home for the parent for each vaccine that the child is due for and then we look at what they got and what they need at that point in time," says MacDonald. "In Grade 9 the school program includes a vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, as well as a meningococcal vaccine."

While vaccines are made readily available to students in the school system, Rocky View Schools (RVS) doesn't require children's medical information prior to their enrollment.

RVS says that parent's are under no obligation to provide them with their child's medical information, which is outlined on the student's registration form.

While parents don't need to disclose their child's vaccination history, AHS will catch them up if they are missing previous immunizations.

"If a child is not up to date according to Alberta's routine schedule and they're missing some other vaccines, that will be picked up and that consent will be sent home to the parent as well and we'll use that opportunity to bring them up to date if the parent consents for any other vaccine that they might be missing."

MacDonald says the vaccination programs are an effective way to immunize the student population - a convenience for and AHS as they can vaccinate hundreds of children in one sitting.

"If they had to bring their children to a public health clinic to get those vaccines, chances are we would not have as many people immunized, students immunized as we do when they go in school."

"The routine immunization programs in Alberta are all publicly funded or provincially funded," adds MacDonald. "These are all free vaccines and no charge to the parent. No charge at our infant and pre-school programs either."

Each school has a different time when the public health nurses will come and distribute vaccines, depending on an appropriate time with school administration.

More on AHS and immunizations in the school system here.

Bradley Jones - airdrienews@goldenwestradio.com