HEPATITIS VACCINATION DEADLINE NEARS; 20 PERCENT OF 7TH-GRADERS MIGHT MISS SCHOOL.

Byline: Lee Condon Staff Writer

Under a state law that went into effect last month, all seventh-graders must be immunized for Hepatitis B before the start of the school year. But Glendale and Burbank school officials say one out of five of their seventh-graders have yet to provide proof they have received the vaccination.

With school starting Sept. 1 in Burbank and Sept. 7 in Glendale, school health officials are stepping up the pressure on parents to get the immunizations.

``It's sort of an across-the-board sluggish response,'' said Suzanne Arnold, health services coordinator for the Glendale Unified School District. ``We won't let them in until they have had this done.''

Students who have not provided proof of receiving the immunization by the first day of school will be sent to the county-run Glendale Health Center to receive the shots.

Arnold said it's important for students to start the Hepatitis B immunization process because it is a three-step immunization. Students will have to return one to two months later for a second shot and two to six months after that for a third shot. They must have received the first shot in order to start school.

Students also have to receive booster measles, mumps and rubella shots to enter seventh grade, Arnold said.

In Glendale, more than 500 of the district's 2,250 seventh-graders have not yet provided documentation that they have received the vaccination, Arnold said. In Burbank, head school nurse Sjann Buck said the district estimates that the parents of about 250 of 1,100 seventh-graders have not yet provided proof that their children have had the immunizations.

``Our big pitch is to get it taken care of before the start of the school year,'' Buck said.

Arnold and Buck said parents have been sent numerous notices informing them of the requirements.

Students must at least have had their first shot in order to start classes, Arnold said. Students who are overdue for the second shot or third shot also will have to go and get those shots in order to start school.

The district is offering a free vaccination session from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at Toll Middle School at 700 Glenwood Road in Glendale.

In addition, some health centers are offering free vaccinations. Parents should call the Glendale Unified School District at [phone], or their local school; Burbank parents should call the Burbank Unified School District at [phone] for information on free clinics.

Arnold said that with so many students still not vaccinated, she expects the district may have a large number of immunizations to cope with on the first day of school.

``The schools are hopefully equipped to deal with the onslaught,'' Arnold said.

Hepatitis B vaccinations have been added to the requirements for entering seventh grade under a state law that went into effect July 1. The requirement was put in effect for kindergartners in 1997, but has been put in place for seventh-graders now in order to catch those students who have never received the vaccination.

Hepatitis B is a virus that is transmitted through blood and other bodily fluids. It attacks the liver and can cause diseases such as liver cancer.

Tricia Chicagus, the West Valley nursing coordinator for the Los Angeles Unified School District, said many sixth-graders were immunized against Hepatitis B and received their measles booster shots during in-school clinics last year. The district has been sending out numerous letters to parents warning them to start or complete the Hepatitis B vaccinations before their child is slated to start seventh grade.

Chicagus said the district has not done a reassessment of how many students are not in compliance with the regulation, but is ready to start vaccinating students on the first day of school, which is Sept. 13 for regular schools and Sept. 6 for LEARN schools.

Parents who want to get their children vaccinated for free before then can call [phone] to find the county health clinic closest to their home.