Time to check vaccine records for school

The phones are ringing and children and their parents are filing into Dr. Edgar Lerias' pediatric office in Farmingdale.

"It's that time of year again," he said. "The kids are going back to school."

With the first day of school a month away, health officials are reminding families to make sure immunizations are up to date.

Parents are required by the state to have their children vaccinated before enrolling them in public school, pre-K programs or day care.

"Immunizations are safe and really the most effective way to prevent disease. We can't say it enough," said Dr. Lawrence Eisenstein, acting health commissioner of Nassau County.

Eisenstein, an infectious-disease specialist, said one of the most important shots this year is the booster for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap), which is mandatory for students entering sixth grade.

A pertussis, or whooping cough, outbreak hit the Smithtown school district in June. The highly contagious respiratory illness quickly spread through sneezing and coughing, said Suffolk County health officials, who advised medical personnel to be on the lookout.

The 13 middle school students who initially got sick had been vaccinated, but officials said their immunity had likely waned. There are now 104 documented whooping cough cases in Suffolk this year, about two-thirds of which have been linked to Smithtown schools, officials said.

The diphtheria/tetanus/acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) is supposed to be taken in five doses: one each at 2, 4 and 6 months; a fourth at 15 to 18 months; and the final at 4 to 6 years. The booster shot is recommended for teens and adults.

Measles also is a concern. In the first six months of 2011, Nassau County officials recorded three cases of measles -- involving a 9-month-old baby and two adults. From 2000 to 2010, there were only 10 cases in Nassau, Eisenstein said.

While some families ask for exemptions to school-vaccine laws, immunization rates remain above 90 percent in both Nassau and Suffolk, local officials say.

To help low-income families, the state offers uninsured and underinsured children vaccines at no cost through health care providers.