One thing we’ve learned clearly from this pandemic: The majority of kids do better academically and socially when they are with their teachers and peers at school. 

And there’s a simple thing families can do that will help keep schools open and kids learning in person: Get those childhood vaccinations!

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of Washington adopted a more stringent stance toward vaccine requirements for everyday childhood diseases. This is because serious childhood diseases that once seemed to be nearly extinct have rebounded in recent years. For example, two years ago, there was a worrisome measles outbreak in Washington.

As we get back to in-person learning, we need parents to check on their child’s immunization status and develop a plan for getting them fully immunized.*  New students will need to provide medically-verified immunization records.

You can check to see if your child is up-to date on their shots at https://myirmobile.com/. If he or she is fully vaccinated, please print the Certificate of Immunization form and send it to your child’s school. 

If you don’t have a family practitioner, there are resources for getting your child immunized, but most currently have long waits for appointments. Because we know that it can be hard to get your child vaccinated here in Grays Harbor County, especially during the pandemic, we’re working on a better solution for parents and kids -- an at-school clinic.

We’ll share more information about this option in a week or two. To get a head start, go to https://myirmobile.com to learn which immunizations your child needs. If possible, print the records out. Then you’ll be ready for the next step!

During the pandemic, parents have told us their children aren’t learning, that they miss their friends and teachers, and that parents are losing work hours to be home with them. Now that we are safely bringing North Beach students back for in-person learning, we want to continue increasing in-person learning opportunities. We need your help for that.

We know a lot more about keeping kids healthy and safe from COVID-19 now than we did a year ago. The safety measures we’ve put in place – masking, staying home when sick, physical distancing, limiting time together in closed rooms, washing hands, cleaning and sanitizing surfaces – have helped us keep staff and students healthy since they’ve been back in school. These measures will also help prevent the transmission of other diseases, as we work our way back to full capacity. But the most foolproof way is to get kids immunized as soon as possible.

Parents, staff, students, administration and the greater community will benefit if we can avoid having schools close down again for any health problem – whether it’s COVID-19 or measles.  Let’s immunize to keep schools open, and kids learning!

*Yes, parents can still get a waiver to the vaccination requirements, but it’s a bit more complicated than it used to be. A doctor must sign the form.