For working parents, many of them also employees, preparing to send their children back to school constitutes and important and time-consuming task.

Mesa County Public Health wants to make this time of year as easy as possible for families by offering a back-to-school clinic to get children caught up on routine vaccinations.Protecting children and their families from the worst outcomes of these preventable diseases helps keep the workforce healthy as well.

“Prevention is so important heading into the school year. These vaccines protect individual kids from serious illness, and the entire school community,” said Allison Sanchez, clinical services director at Mesa County Public Health.

The vaccine clinic is set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 10 at the public health clinic at 510 29 1/2 Road in Grand Junction. Appointments are required. Call (970) 248-6900 to schedule one.

All recommended and required school vaccines will be available, including those for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis; measles, mumps and rubella; meningitis; COVID-19; and varicella for chickenpox.

Parents should bring their children’s immunization records as well as their insurance cards. If needed, nurses can check records to see which vaccines are needed.

The clinic accepts all major health insurance plans. Programs are available for those without insurance.

“For children without insurance, we can provide vaccinations at low cost. We will work with all families to make sure kids get what they need for school,” Sanchez said.

If parents have concerns about vaccinations, nurses will be on hand to answer questions.

“Having those conversations with parents about where they are and where they need to be and setting up a timeline is really what we aim for to get them caught up as soon as we can,” Sanchez said.

Additional information about vaccinations and other services at the public health clinic is available from the Mesa County Public Health website located at mesacounty.us/public-health.

By sharing this information with employees, we can all work together to promote a healthy community.