As Hamilton County students prepare to return to school Monday,
the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department wants to
ensure parents have taken the steps to protect their children
from illness and have the proper immunization certificates for
their kids. In order for a student to enroll in preschool,
kindergarten or seventh grade—or to be newly enrolled in a
Tennessee school—the state requires an immunization certificate.
According to the Health Department website, Tennessee law
requires documented proof of immunizations; otherwise, children
may be prevented from attending child care, grade school or
college. “The increases in pertussis [whooping cough] cases and
incidences of disease outbreaks that have recently taken place
across the country illustrate it is now more important than ever
to protect our infants, children and adolescents from vaccine
preventable diseases,” Nettie Gerstle, communicable disease
program manager for the Chattanooga–Hamilton County Health
Department, said. “The single most imp