Oregon, it appears, will become the 11th state beginning in the Falls of 2008 to require children in preschool, childcare facilities, kindergarten and Head Start to have two doses of Hepatitis A vaccine.
Over the next few years, Hepatitis A vaccine requirements will be added to other grade levels in Oregon.
Oregon allows two types of immunization exemptions: one for religious purposes, which requires a guardian signature, and the other for medical reasons, which requires a physician or a health department official signature.
According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Utah currently include Hepatitis A vaccines in their school immunization requirements.
California strongly recommend children get vaccine shots for Hepatitis A, but do not require them.
About 180,000 people become infected annually with the Hepatitis A virus, and about one third of those are children.