Tennessee doctors are beginning to see the annual back-to-school wave of kids needing booster shots — and it’s usually seventh graders who need some extra prodding to get the required shots in Nashville schools.

Like most districts, Metro Schools starts sending out reminders to parents when students are winding up sixth grade. If students lack the vaccines, it usually indicates they haven’t been coming for annual physicals, says pediatrician Larryl Spearmon of Neighborhood Health.

“The last time their child — [for] a lot of people — has gone to the doctor is for kindergarten shots, and then they only come for sick visits,” she says.

Students can’t start kindergarten without being up-to-date with the latest requirements,
which were implemented in 2010.

For seventh graders, there’s a grace period to get their tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (TDAP) booster and chicken pox second dose, if they haven’t already had the virus. But usually within a few weeks, they’re told not to come to school until they can show proof of vaccination. In 2015, 
60 percent of students were not up to date.

Some families also wait because they’re worried about paying for the shots. Spearmon says many may qualify for TennCare but not have updated their coverage.

“If that child hasn’t gone to the doctor in several years, they may have an old address. So if they don’t fill out that packet of information and get it back to TennCare, their insurance is going to lapse,” she says.

But, she notes, “if they do not have insurance, we do not charge them for the vaccines.”

During the seasonal rush, Neighborhood Health is allowing walk-in appointments at its clinics. Connectus Health is offering free vaccines and physicals at its clinics. And the Metro Public Health Department is providing vaccines, which are free through a state-run program.