Parents urged to return immunisation forms

Parents are being urged to return consent forms for immunisations scheduled to take place in secondary schools in March.

Swan Hill Rural City Council will be conducting immunisations for Year 7 students (HPV, chicken pox) and Year 10 students (Boostrix – tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough).

They will be conducted at Swan Hill College, MacKillop College, Swan Hill Specialist School, Flo, Robinvale P-12, St Mary’s Robinvale, Manangatang P-12 and Glenvale School.

Council Public Health Services Team Leader Trish Ficarra said it was vital that consent forms were returned to either the Council offices or schools as soon as possible.

“We understand that parents and carers are busy, and can often be swamped with paperwork, but without the signed consent form students will miss out on their immunisations,” she said.

Ms Ficarra said that if students missed their immunisations through the school program, it could leave them without full immunisation and it could be expensive to catch up at a later date.

“The HPV vaccine can cost about $450 for the full three doses, so we really encourage parents to take advantage of the immunisation program through schools and get their children immunised for free,” she said.

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