July 29, 2004

The Houston Department of Health and Human Services will offer vaccinations to children heading off to school at two malls weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., August 2-13.

Vaccination sites are Northline Mall, 4400 North Freeway, and Sharpstown Center, 7500 Bellaire Boulevard. Cost is $3 per child.

A designated number of appointment tickets will be issued daily at each of the sites. The tickets will be distributed on a first come, first served basis and based on site capacity. Parents should take to the vaccination site their children's immunization records and Medicaid card if applicable.

The department's health centers, regular Monday through Saturday mobile sites and WIC sites will not offer immunizations while school shots are provided at the malls.

By the time they enter kindergarten, children on an optimum schedule need to receive:

• five doses of a combined shot for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough),
• four doses of polio,
• three or more doses of haemophilus influenza type b (Hib),
• three hepatitis B doses,
• two doses of a combined shot for measles, mumps and rubella, and
• one varicella dose.

It is recommended that children receive 80 percent of their lifetime vaccinations by age two, but some parents delay immunizing children until meeting requirements to enter school, leaving their children vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases.

Recorded information about the immunization sites will be available starting August 1 at 713-247-2411 in English and at 713-247-2412 in Spanish. For more information, call the department's Immunization Bureau at 713-794-9267.