PITTSBURGH (AP) — New Pennsylvania Department of Health rules require school students to be fully vaccinated within five days of the beginning of the school year.
The Tribune-Review says the new rules take effect in August.
Students who don’t have their vaccinations in time must have a doctor provide a written medial plan to outline when the vaccinations will occur.
Loren Robinson, the deputy secretary and health promotion and disease prevention, says the rules mostly affect kindergarten students because that’s when most children get the vaccines. Parents previously were given up to eight months to get their children vaccinated after starting school.
The new rules are meant to ensure more accurate reporting to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and to prevent outbreaks of measles and other infectious diseases.
