Mecklenburg County Public Health is urging parents to ensure their children are current on required vaccinations before the start of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools year on August 25. The reminder comes as local health officials note an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles and whooping cough.
“We want to make sure children have a healthy start to their school year by getting their vaccines to keep themselves and their classmates safe and protected,” said Health Director Dr. Raynard Washington. “It is especially important to get vaccinated before the start of school this year as we’ve seen a rise in vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough. Vaccines are safe and highly effective at preventing these diseases but can take two weeks to become effective.”
Students must be up to date on all required vaccines by September 24, 2025, or risk being excluded from school. In cases of measles exposure, unvaccinated children or those without prior infection may face exclusion from school for 21 days or longer.
Last year, Mecklenburg County reported its first confirmed case of measles since 2018 in North Carolina. This year, one case has been identified statewide amid broader outbreaks across the country. The county also saw an increase in whooping cough cases last year.
Vaccinations are available through healthcare providers and retail pharmacies and are generally covered by insurance plans. The county offers free or low-cost immunizations for uninsured families at its Immunization Clinic. Additional clinic hours will be provided in September: Saturday, September 6 at the Northwest Health Department (2845 Beatties Ford Rd.), Saturday, September 27 at the Ella B. Scarborough Community Resource Center (430 Stitt Rd.), both from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., as well as evening hours from September 15 through September 19 until 7 p.m. at both the Southeast Health Department (249 Billingsley Rd.) and Northwest Health Department.
According to state data, enrollment in Mecklenburg County schools dropped by 0.4% during the 2022-23 academic year compared with the previous year (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/). Despite this decline, schools enrolled a total of 153,537 students during that period (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/).
