School starts in a couple of weeks. Parents are making sure their kids’ immunization shots are up to date.
Rome is going into kindergarten. We spoke with his father Michael Varesio.
He said, "We have to get him in here and get this taken care of so that he can go to school, so he can ride that school bus for the first time."
The Varesio family was among dozens of parents Wednesday making sure their kids are prepared for the first day of classes. But right now you can't rush to any health department location in the county for immunizations.
Only three locations in Palm Beach County will have the vaccines, which means if you live in Delray Beach or Jupiter you’ll have to drive to another location for the next two weeks.
Tim O'Connor with the Florida Department of Health Palm Beach County said, "We looked at the areas where we gave the most immunizations. So what we've done is gear up and we brought our staff to West Palm Beach, Lantana as well as Belle Glade so that we can give many, many more services in a shorter amount of time."
The wait time can take 30 minutes to an hour. The Health Department says making an appointment could shorten your wait. Consolidating the locations also makes sure there are enough vaccines on hand.
Varesio is glad the family brought Rome to the clinic now to make sure he is ready for school.
The Health Department says the change in locations is only until Aug. 17.
After that date, all locations will once again do child immunizations. But until Aug. 17, to get your child immunized, go to the following locations:
- West Palm Beach Health Center at 1150 45th St.
- Lantana Health Center at 1250 Southwinds Dr.
- C.L. Brumback Health Center at 38754 State Rd. 80 in Belle Glade
Related Link: http://palmbeach.floridahealth.gov/7232018releasebacktoschool.pdf