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Officer, suspect injured in Berwick shooting

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Mohegan Sun Arena to host 12th annual Open Skate to benefit Toys for Tots

<p>New state rules have been proposed that would wipe out an eight-month lag currently allowed between the start of school and the completion of mandated vaccinations. The state contends the delay is one reason vaccination rates are lower here than elsewhere, putting more children at risk.</p><p>&#8220;Eight months is too long,&#8221; Physician Assistant Christina Feldmann agreed. &#8220;Getting them done earlier is a great plan.&#8221;</p><p>Feldmann, who works at Geisinger-South Wilkes-Barre, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has honed the proposed vaccination regimen for years, determining the appropriate age for various vaccines.</p><p>For example, she noted, babies are vaccinated against rotavirus, which causes diarrhea that can lead to life-threatening dehydration in children younger than 5 but poses little risk to those who are older. &#8220;We stop giving it when they outgrow it,&#8221; Feldmann noted.</p><p>Tetanus and polio vaccines also are given to babies, she added. The result: According to the CDC, no polio cases have originated in the United States since 1979.</p><p>But the bulk of vaccinations are given &#8220;right around age 4 to 6, when kids are starting school,&#8221; Feldmann said, so mandating them before entering school dovetails with CDC recommendations.</p><p>The state currently requires eight vaccinations given in multiple doses for children in kindergarten through 12th grade. The goal is to create &#8220;herd immunity.&#8221; That&#8217;s when the vaccination rate is high enough to provide some protection for those who <em>aren&#8217;t</em> vaccinated by giving a disease little opportunity to spread from person to person.</p><p>Achieving herd immunity in Pennsylvania schools is a key reason for the proposed changes, announced jointly by the state&#8217;s secretaries of the Department of Health and Department of Education.</p><p>In a fact sheet accompanying the announcement the Department of Health noted that, while there is no clear &#8220;overall vaccination rate&#8221; because of the way data is collected, the rate for the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine is a common gauge.</p><p>By that measure, &#8220;only 91 percent of Pennsylvania children entering kindergarten had the necessary vaccinations, compared with more than half the states reporting a rate of over 95 percent,&#8221; the fact sheet noted.</p><p>Current rules allow students to be admitted to school &#8220;provisionally for up to eight months&#8221; if at least one dose of each required vaccine has been given, and a plan for all other immunizations is in place.</p><p>The new rules would:</p><p>&#8226; Change proof of immunity for measles and mumps. Currently a statement of history by a parent or guardian is required; the statement would have to come from a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant.</p><p>&#8226; Allow a child who needs the next or final dose of a multiple-dose vaccine five days &#8212; rather than eight months &#8212; to either get that dose or submit a medical certificate that outline the dates for them.</p><p>&#8226; Cut in half the maximum time for school administrators to review those medical certificates and the child&#8217;s compliance, from 60 days to at least every 30 days.</p><p>&#8226; Give schools more time to file required reports, changing the annual filing deadline from Oct. 15 to Dec. 31.</p><p>&#8226; Add a pertussis vaccine to the list of those mandated, and require a meningitis vaccine before entering grade 12.</p><p>Along with creating herd immunity, mandatory vaccines provide a second benefit, especially for youngsters starting school, Feldmann said: Kids who may not have seen a doctor finally do.</p><p>&#8220;Making sure they have their shots is also a good way to get them in for examinations,&#8221; she said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Feldmann </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Feldmann-Christina.jpg</photo0><caption0>Feldmann </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Pennsylvania proposes tighter vaccination rules for school students