8:30 a.m. - Back-To-School Clinic in Little Rock Friday

It’s already time to go back to school, and the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), Pulaski County Central Health Unit, has a special clinic planned to help parents make sure their kids are protected and ready with all the shots they need for admission to school.

A special Back-to-School Clinic will be held this Friday, August 8th, from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.

The Pulaski Central Health Unit is located at 3915 West 8th Street in Little Rock.

Parents will need to bring copies of the shot records for their children, an ARKids Medicaid Card or a $5.00 record maintenance fee.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for parents to make sure that their kids are ready to go back to school with all the protection they need to stay well this year,” says Carladder Parham, ADH Central Region Director.

August is National Immunizations Awareness Month, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that vaccines have eradicated smallpox, eliminated wild poliovirus in the U.S. and significantly reduced the number of cases of measles, diphtheria, rubella, pertussis and other diseases. But despite these efforts, today tens of thousands of people in the U.S. still die from these and other vaccine-preventable diseases. Unfortunately, while these diseases have all but disappeared in this country, the causes are still around, and the need to be vaccinated to protect yourself and your children is just as important as ever.

This year’s measles outbreak should serve as a reminder of what can happen when children and adults are not vaccinated. The fact is, if your children are not protected by the safe, effective vaccines that are available today, they are at risk, and so are the other people that that may come into contact with if they become infected.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has placed vaccinations at the top of the list of the most significant achievements in public health in the last century. Today’s science has provided us with the best immunity from disease that we’ve ever had. New vaccines are tested extensively before they are licensed, and once they are in use, they are held to the very highest standard of safety, and their use is continually monitored by the CDC.

If you aren’t sure whether your children are up-to-date on all their vaccinations, talk to your family doctor or visit your ADH Local County Health Unit. If your children have fallen behind, it is important to find out what needs to be done to get caught up.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website is also a good source for information on vaccination schedules and related issues.