The deadline for Columbus City Schools students to have all of their vaccinations is fast approaching.
Ohio law mandates students to have required vaccines by the 15th day of school, which is Thursday for Columbus students.
"If your kiddo doesn't have their vaccines by then, they'll have to start missing out on critically important academic instruction, playing with their friends and enjoying all the great parts of the school year," Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Tuesday.
Ginther and Columbus Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts spoke about the importance of vaccinations at Columbus Public Health's walk-in pediatric vaccine clinic on Tuesday.
The clinic was relatively slow around 1 p.m., but a few young kids bravely tolerated getting poked. They were rewarded with stickers or pencils.
"We are still expecting children to be vaccinated before school starts in order to stay in school."- Columbus Health Commissioner Mysheika Roberts
This year, Columbus Public Health held several similar low-cost or free walk-in clinics during the summer near schools that had the lowest vaccination rates. Roberts said people likely took advantage of the earlier clinics instead of waiting until the last minute.
She said many families also remain hesitant to vaccinate their children due to misinformation.
"Even though there's been a lot of confusion on the federal level in terms of which vaccines to get (and) when to get them, Ohio is not changing our rules, and we are still expecting children to be vaccinated before school starts in order to stay in school," Roberts said.
Roberts said vaccines are still the safest and most effective way to keep kids healthy.
She believes a lot of the confusion around vaccines began with the COVID-19 pandemic.
"When we had COVID-19 vaccines come on board, people were concerned about how quickly they got to the market, not understanding the work that had been done behind the scenes for years to help us prepare for that day," Roberts said.
She added that media has spread misinformation about some vaccines like the measles, mumps, and rubella. She said that some people think some vaccines cause autism, but that isn't true. Meanwhile, the state is fighting a measles outbreak.
"Many of these diseases that we are vaccinated for, many of us have never seen or never heard of someone in our neighborhood having. It's because the vaccines are working," Roberts said.
Columbus Public Health's clinic will continue this week, offering all of the pediatric vaccinations required for children to attend school. It's open from 8 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Columbus Public Health, which is located 240 Parsons Ave. No appointment is necessary.
Roberts said families can also talk to a trusted family doctor about getting young children vaccinated. She said that it's easier on children if parents spread out vaccinations from birth to age 5.
"If you choose not to do that, you will probably be causing a lot of sticks to your child in a very short period of time so that they can be up to date when it's time to go to school," she said.
