Parents miss the mark for meningitis vaccine

Posted on October 16, 2015
McLean County Health Department
Appointments for vaccinations are backed up. (Adam Studzinski/WJBC)

By Terry James

BLOOMINGTON – The deadline has passed for students in District 87 and Unit five schools to be vaccinated for meningitis.

Nearly 200 students attending schools in the area are being told to stay home until they are vaccinated.  McLean County Health Department Clinic Supervisor Trish Cleary said not being vaccinated violates Illinois State law.

“It can be spread in environments where there are crowded conditions,” said Cleary.  “It can be spread in military barracks, dormitory rooms, and smokey places.”

Vaccinations are needed for children in the sixth grade or older.  Meningitis can lead to death.

Terry James can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…