Changes in Texas Immunization Requirements
On March 5, 2009, the Executive Commissioner on Health and Human Services approved several revisions to the ‘’Immunization Requirements for Children and Students in Texas Public and Private Schools’’{Title 25,Health Services, Chapter 97, Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §97.61 and
§§ 97.63-97.77].
The changes to the requirements were made in order to update the Texas elementary and secondary school immunization requirements so that they adhere more closely to the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).These changes include:
Hepatitis A Vaccine: Beginning August1, 2009, all students entering Kindergarten, statewide, will be required to have two doses of Hepatitis A Vaccine.
Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) Vaccine: Beginning August 1, 2009, all students entering kindergarten will be required to have two doses ofmeasles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Varicella Vaccine: Beginning August 1, 2009, all students entering kindergarten and 7th grade will be required to have 2 doses of varicella vaccine. A written statement from his parent (or legal guardian or managing conservator), school nurse, or physician attesting to a child’s positive history of varicella disease (chickenpox), or of varicella immunity, is acceptable in lieu of either dose of varicella vaccine.
Tetanus, Diphtheria and acellular pertussis-containing vaccine (Tdap): Beginning August 1, 2009, all students entering the 7th grade will be required to have one dose of Tdap vaccine. Students in the 7th grade will be required to have a booster dose of Tdap only if it has been 5 years since their last dose of a tetanus-containing vaccine. Students in grades 8-12 are required to have a booster dose of Tdap if it has been 10 years since their previous dose of a tetanus-containing vaccine. Td is acceptable in lieu of Tdap if a contraindication to pertussis exists.
Meningococcal Vaccine: Beginning August 1, 2009, all students entering the 7th grade will be required to have one dose of meningococcal vaccine.
