New rules shortening a grace period for student immunizations could cause confusion at the beginning of the next school year, according to area school officials.

“We are definitely concerned,” said Altoona Area School District Assistant Superintendent Brad Hatch. “Our biggest effort at this point would be making sure that parents are aware.”

This spring, the state Department of Health made changes to school-student immunization regulations, based partly on recommendations from a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory board, a DOH spokesman said.

Chief among those changes is a reduction of a grace period for incoming students, he said.

Previously, students had eight months from the first day of the school year to receive all needed vaccinations.

Beginning Aug. 1, that grace period will be shortened to five days.

“This ensures that students’ vaccinations are current, which will help keep everybody safe and healthy – especially those who cannot receive vaccinations due to allergies or autoimmune issues,” according to the DOH.

While students’ health and safety is the crux of these changes, the abrupt adjustment could be confusing for parents and students, officials claim.

“I think there will be students that will show up who will be deficient,” said Michele Aurandt, Central Cambria High School’s nurse.

Aurandt pointed specifically to vaccines for illnesses like polio, which require multiple doses.

In the case of polio, she said, students must receive four doses, with six months between each dose.

That cannot be completed within a five-day grace period, she said.

“That’s where it gets a little bit complicated,” Aurandt said, explaining those students will be denied admittance after the five-day period for not meeting the new requirements.

That was a concern expressed by some Central Cambria School Board members at a meeting this week.

There, they spoke mostly about students entering kindergarten classes. Those students, if not vaccinated, could risk typical entry to the district, said board member Scott Magley, who is also the district physician.

“They are not going to be in for that first year of kindergarten,” he said.

Portage Area School District Superintendent Eric Zelanko shared those fears at a Wednesday meeting, but said there is little officials can do beyond sending information to parents, urging them to begin the vaccination process on time.

“Our hands are going to be tied,” he said.

But kindergarten is not the only grade affected by the new rules, said Hatch, who oversees nursing at the Altoona Area district.

Students entering seventh grade must be vaccinated with a dose of tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis, as well as meningococcal meningitis. Students entering 12th grade also must receive a dose of the meningococcal meningitis vaccine.

A Bishop Carroll Catholic High School receptionist confirmed the new rules also affect private schools, and administrators have been working to pass information to students and their parents.

That push to get information to students and their parents was mentioned by leaders at numerous area schools, including those in Altoona.

“It’s huge right now,” Hatch said, explaining that district employees have been working to review students’ vaccination records, contacting anyone who may be at risk of not meeting new deadlines.

“That could be quite a few students,” he said. “If they entered school on the day after the deadline (without proper vaccines) … we would have to turn them away.”

There are a few exemptions to the new rules. Those with medical restrictions, religious beliefs or philosophical/strong moral or ethical convictions are exempt, according to the DOH.

Barring those exemptions, students who have not met the immunization deadline will be allowed into schools only if they visit a doctor who sets up a “medically appropriate” schedule for the students to receive the remaining vaccinations, Aurandt said.

And area doctors are expecting a busy season full of administering vaccines, said Greta Noffsker, practice manager at Children’s Community Pediatrics along Ninth Avenue.

“We’re anticipating a lot of children coming in just to get their shots this summer,” she said, adding that medical professionals have been working closely with school nurses. “We were told about this probably in the fall, so we have been aware for a long time.”