El Paso's Department of Public Health offers free routine vaccines for qualifying children

City’s Department of Public Health provides free routine vaccines for children

The city of El Paso is helping Borderland parents get their children ready for school by offering free routine vaccines.

The Department of Public Health is stressing the importance of vaccinations to protect children from preventable diseases, including tetanus, HPV, polio, measles, meningitis and whooping cough.

"Deadly and disabling diseases such as polio, meningitis, measles and others were present not long ago in the community” City-County Local Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza said in a news release. “We must protect our children by vaccinating them against these deadly diseases. Vaccines are one of the most successful means to prevent disease and death."

The City’s Community Clinics are open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, but are closed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. They also are closed Sunday and Monday.

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The clinics are at:

  • Ysleta, 110 Candelaria Road

  • Henderson, 721 S. Mesa St.

  • Northeast, 9566 Railroad Drive

No appointment is required, but one can be made by calling 915-212-6555.

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The Department of Public Health is offering free vaccines for children 18 years old and younger who meet one of the following Texas Vaccines for Children guidelines:

  • Enrolled in Medicaid

  • Uninsured and underinsured

  • American Indian or Alaskan Native

  • Enrolled in CHIP

The following vaccines are available to eligible children 0-18 years old:

  • Diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP)

  • Diphtheria tetanus (DT)

  • Haemophilus influenza (Hib)

  • Hepatitis A (HepA)

  • Hepatitis B (HepB)

  • Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)

  • Pneumococcal vaccine for children (PCV-15)

  • Polio (IPV)

  • Rotavirus (RV)

  • Varicella or chickenpox (VAR)

  • Meningococcal vaccine (MCV) and meningitis B (MenB)

  • Adolescent tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap)

  • Human papillomavirus (HPV)

For more information on the services and health screenings provided by the Department of Public Health visit EPHealth.com, under the Immunizations tab or call 211.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: City of El Paso clinics offer free routine vaccines for children