Vaccinations for school...how soon to start them?

[nursetabitha]

I know I will need vaccines for school. I hate that I have to get them, but anyway, I've never had chicken pox nor been vaccinated for it and I'm probably even due for another tetorifice shot. So I'm probably gonna need everything in the book.

So my question is, how far ahead of time do I need to get my vaccines started? I asked my supervisor at school and he said I won't need to worry about it until I start the first semester because we don't have clinicals until the second semester.

In your opinion and/or experience, should I trust him on that and wait to get them started? Or is one semester really enough time to get them all up to date?

I've heard some horror stories about students who didn't get vaccines done in time and had to miss an entire semester if not the whole program.

[Iridescent Orchid, CNA, LPN]

You can trust him on that as far as I'm concerned. I actually didn't even finish getting mine until 2 weeks before it was time for clinicals to begin. I think you're safe to wait until the first semester, but you could go ahead and get them over with if you wanted to as well. Just make sure you have a copy of your vaccination record for when your instructor asks for one. :)

[kzens, LPN]

I would go ahead and start them now. Once you start school it will be difficult trying to do all the shots and physical and everything along with school. I did mine before school started so I wouldn't have to worry about them. It's much easier

[nursetabitha]

So here's another question to add: where to go to get vaccines done on a nursing students salary?

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

So here's another question to add: where to go to get vaccines done on a nursing students salary?

Try your local health dept for free or low cost vaccines.

[nursetabitha]

Try your local health dept for free or low cost vaccines.

Oh great idea! I'll check that out. Thanks!

[ixchel]

Before you start getting vaccines, find out what you are supposed to get and start with titers. It's possible you've been exposed to different things without displaying symptoms. The one vaccine that will need a good long head start is hepatitis. That one will be given over a series over months at a time. But, like I said, get the titers first if you don't want to unnecessarily vaccinate because you might not need it, a positive titer means you've already been exposed and the vaccine is unneeded.