Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Nearly 130 Guilford County School Students Barred From Class Over Vaccine Requirements

The Guilford County Health Department held special clinics this week to help students get the required immunizations. --- photo credit: Rhoda Baer (Photographer) via Wikimedia Commons

Over a hundred students in Guilford County Schools weren't allowed to return to school Thursday. They cannot return to class until they can show documentation for required vaccinations.

State law says seventh-grade students need to get two vaccines: the Tdap booster, which offers protection from whooping cough and other diseases, and the MCV for meningitis. Students are required to submit medical forms showing they've been immunized.

Guilford County School officials say nearly 130 didn't do that, and Robin Bergeron-Nolan, with Guilford County Schools, says they're not sure why so many students missed the deadline.

“We really want to minimize the number of days that they are not able to be in school for not having the vaccination, so we are scrambling and really working hard with the parent and school community to make that happen,” says Bergeron-Nolan.

Guilford County began sending notices in the spring. Health officials say a child can only be exempted for a medical reason or religious belief.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news.

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate