More than 900 Prince George's students lack required vaccinations

Maryland requires students to be vaccinated against hepatitis B and chickenpox. At the time the law went into effect in January 2007, about 5,800 county students had failed to get required vaccinations.

Since then, county officials have struggled to get children immunized. The school system has sent letters informing parents of immunization requirements, personnel were sent door-to-door to talk with parents and some schools provided transportation for students to receive free shots.

In November, thousands of parents were ordered to bring their children to the county courthouse on a Saturday to receive mandatory vaccinations after the school system announced that 2,300 still students did not have their vaccinations.

By December, the number of students out of compliance had decreased to 1,084.

‘‘When it's recognized at the school, then the parents are called and asked to come pick their children up. That gives us an opportunity to once again remind the parent that this is something that is needed to attend school,” White said.

The number of students currently out of compliance is about 0.7 percent of the schools' population of 131,000.

Parents who have medical or religious objections to the vaccines are permitted to sign a waiver exempting their children, which would put the children in compliance and allow them to attend school, White said.

Information on vaccine requirements is available at www.pgcps.org.