CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As students in North Carolina gear up for the next school year next week, some parents are wondering if their child's school will have their COVID-19 vaccination records.
Currently, kids 12 and up are eligible for the vaccine. Some districts will allow students who are fully vaccinated to skip wearing a mask, while others, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, will require masks for all students and staff members, regardless of vaccination status.
THE QUESTION
Will schools have a record of your child's COVID-19 vaccine?
SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Yes, in most cases, the school will have a record of your child's COVID-19 vaccination.
WHAT WE FOUND
According to the toolkit, K-12 administrators regularly maintain documents of people's immunization records.
In an email, NCDHHS said "typically all immunizations both required and recommended are consolidated into one record," which is then submitted to the school.
NCDHHS said if the COVID-19 vaccine is administered at a different location than a student's primary doctor then it could be entered into a different system, which may not go to the school. Ohmstede said parents should make sure their child's doctor has access to that record.
"As long as the center where the vaccine was given, is affiliated with NCIR (North Carolina Immunization Registry), that vaccine should be entered into that state registry," Ohmstede said. "There may be some vaccine centers that don't enter into NCIR, and so there may be situations where even the pediatrician might not have access to that."
Atrium Health had a similar response when asked, saying their documented vaccinations go into the NCIR system, which then goes to schools and they can provide vaccination records to parents.
If schools do have a record of your child's COVID-19 vaccine, the StrongSchoolsNC Toolkit states schools must follow the laws and regulations, including privacy laws. This is just like every other vaccine that's on file at your child's school.
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