Vaccination rules affect 500 in Havre

As many as 500 Havre students have not been immunized against chickenpox and are therefore at risk of not being able to attend Montana schools after Oct. 1, according to Andy Carlson, superintendent of Havre Public Schools.

Carlson brought up the topic of the new vaccine requirements at Tuesday's school board meeting. Under the new regulations passed and signed into law during the 2015 state legislative session, children must receive two doses of varicella, the vaccine that inoculates against chickenpox, or prove they are immune from the highly contagious disease by Oct. 1. Those who do not will be ineligible for school.

Until this year, Montana was the only state that did not require students get the vaccine before enrolling in K-12 classes.

Carlson said he understood the inconvenience the changes could cause some families and will be sending out letters to parents reminding them of the new guidelines.

"This won't be a fun letter to send," said Carlson. who says the district is merely implementing state law. "This is a big deal because this is going to impact over a quarter of our student population."

Carlson said ultimately it would be the responsibility of parents to get their children vaccinated or prove they are otherwise immune from chickenpox through a medical test or records from their child's doctor. People are immune, he said, if they ever had chickenpox.

Religious and medical exemptions will be available. Medical exemptions will require confirmation from a doctor.

Carlson said the district may hold immunization clinics at the schools.

The new vaccination rules were formally adopted as part of policy and procedure changes made by the board at the meeting and passed 8-1. Ed Hill was the sole dissenter.

Kim Larson, public health director for the Hill County Health Department, who was later interviewed for this story, said the new requirements would not cause as much upheaval as some may think. She said a majority of parents have opted to immunize their children, even before these new requirements were put into state law.

"I believe here in Havre most of our kids will be up-to-date with these shots," Larson said, and that for most families it will just be a matter of getting an up to date record of their child's vaccines from their doctor.

Children will be able to get the varcella vaccine Friday between 9 a.m and 5 p.m for free at an event sponsored by Montana Blue Cross Blue Shield outside the Hill County Health Department at 302 4th St., just across from the Havre-Hill County Library. A Lil' Shots Carnival will be held outside the building from 9 a.m. until noon, where children who receive their shots will be able to partake in an array of fun activities.

For more information, people can call the Hill County Health Department at 265-5481, ext. 266.

In other business taken up during the board's regular meeting, members voted unanimously to give final approval to the elementary school district and high school district budgets presented in May, with no items added or programs cut.

Carlson also said that while construction projects at Sunnyside Intermediate School and Havre High School would be ongoing, he assured board members that all classrooms would be ready for use at the start of the school year Aug 26.

Carlson said carpet is being laid in both the classrooms and hallways, and marker board will soon be mounted on the walls.