Does your child need shots to go to school? Fresno Unified is offering vaccination clinics
With the new school year fast approaching, the Fresno Unified School District is offering a series of pop-up health clinics.
Two clinics will provide vaccinations, while two others will offer sports physicals.
Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson said immunizations help students get a healthy start to the new school year.
“We invite parents to start thinking about immunizations now and make the necessary appointments with your health care provider,” Nelson said in a news release, “or take advantage of available clinics at our schools.”
According to the California Department of Public Health, all students entering kindergarten are required to be up to date on vaccines against:
Polio
Tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (known as Tdap or DTaP)
Mumps, measles and rubella (known as MMR)
Hepatitis B
Varicella
When students enter seventh grade, they must show proof of updated vaccination against pertussis (whooping cough) and have a second varicella immunization.
According to state law, all K-12 students in California – whether they are entering school for the first time at any grade level or transferring from another school – need to comply with these requirements in order to attend class.
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What to know about Fresno Unified’s vaccine clinics
The district has scheduled two pop-up vaccine clinics in August:
Saturday, Aug. 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Gaston Middle School’s Health and Wellness Center, 1120 E. Church Ave.
Saturday, Aug. 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Addams Elementary School’s Health and Wellness Center, 1510 N. Lafayette Ave.
Vaccine clinics at Addams and Gaston schools are operated by Clinica Sierra Vista. Vaccinations provided at these clinics are covered by insurance, clinic representatives said. Those who don’t have insurance and don’t qualify for other programs can pay for the shots on a sliding scale.
Parents and guardians should bring their students’ immunization cards to the vaccination clinics. If parents or guardians can’t find the card or records, “we have the capability to look up immunizations through the California Immunization Registry with parent permission,” said Diana Diaz, the district’s communications director.
“We also can have parents sign a release of information that allows us to obtain the immunization records from their doctor,” Diaz said. “With the resources we have on hand, we can normally support our families.”
Fresno Unified student athletes can get physicals, too
Fresno Unified will also offer sports physicals for child and adolescent athletes in training and competition. Students requiring sports physicals should have received a form from their coaches to take to their appointment.
The district has scheduled two pop-up clinics in August:
Thursday, Aug. 3, from 3-7 p.m. at Gaston Middle School’s Health and Wellness Center, 1120 E. Church Ave.
Tuesday, Aug. 15, from 3-7 p.m. at Addams Elementary School’s Health and Wellness Center, 1510 N. Lafayette Ave.
Parents or guardians can provide an insurance card to cover the cost of the physicals. If no insurance card is provided, the assessments cost $15.
Besides these pop-up clinics at the start of the school year, Fresno Unified will also offer free immunizations and sports physicals for families covered by Medi-Cal or without insurance at Tioga Middle School from August 2023 to June 2024.
The district’s Health Services Department will host this free clinic on school days from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Tioga Middle School, located at 3232 E. Fairmont Ave. Vaccines and physicals at Tioga’s clinic are by appointment only. Parents and guardians can call 559-248-7157 to make an appointment.
For more details or questions, parents and guardians can contact Fresno Unified’s Health Services Department at 559-457-3301 or visit their website at https://health.fresnounified.org.
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