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State officials encourage back-to-school vaccinations

A 3-year-old receives her COVID-19 shot. North Carolina officials are reminding families to keep children up to date on required and recommended vaccinations before heading back to school. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

With children heading back to school this month, state officials are reminding families of the importance of staying up-to-date on required and recommended vaccinations. 

Governor Roy Cooper has proclaimed August as Immunization Awareness Month. It's part of a campaign to control the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases such as chicken pox, meningitis, measles, and pertussis, also known as whooping cough.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains a list of all vaccinations required for school attendance from kindergarten through 12th grade. Uninsured children can still be vaccinated at low or no cost through the Vaccines for Children program.

State Health Director and DHHS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elizabeth Tilson says vaccines are one of the biggest public health successes the medical establishment has seen and offers reassuring words to those who might question their safety and efficacy.

"These vaccines we've had for a long time are very safe, are very effective, and are critically important to protect our children and families from some of the biggest threats against their health," says Tilson.

Tilson adds that while COVID-19 vaccinations are not currently required in North Carolina, they are recommended for children six months and older to prevent illness and the potential spread of the disease.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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