GREENSBORO, N.C. — The deadline has come and gone for Guilford County School students to get routine immunization forms turned in.
Yet, school officials said more than a thousand students have not gotten their required vaccines.
To get students up to date on their shots GCS has partnered with the Guilford County Public Health Department.
The school district's director of student services Dominick Robinson said they want to make the process as easy as possible for families by hosting mobile clinics at high schools.
“We’re collaborating with the Guilford County department of public health to use three of their mobile vans to visit 6 schools tomorrow to provide vaccines," Robinson said. "The plan is for each van to travel to two schools and provide a 2-hour clinic at each school.”
Students were able to get immunized Wednesday as long as they had signed consent forms from a parent or guardian.
As of Monday, there were 1,636 students that were not compliant with the North Carolina law that requires students entering kindergarten, 7th and 12th grade to be immunized.
Robinson said access and families lacking primary care providers are barriers to getting students vaccinated.
"In terms of accessibility, it's funding. We want to make sure students don't have to pay anything out of pocket and make sure they're located in convenient locations across the district," Robinson said. "I think families want to make sure their students are in school but they need to know when and how to access those resources.”
GCS said they’ll continue to work with the health department to host clinics. They’re also planning to put on clinics with Cone Health in the future.
In the meantime, the health department has open appointments at its Greensboro and High Point clinics. All parents have to do is call 336-641-3245 to schedule their child's immunization.
The only exemptions are if a medical professional determines the required shots are detrimental to the student's health or if there is a written religious objection to immunization by a parent or guardian.