Area children can get caught up on their vaccines for free Friday during a back-to-school immunization clinic at the Dallas County Health Department.

The health department, located at 100 Samuel O. Moseley Dr. in Selma, will hold the clinic from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Kristy Wilkinson, RN, Nurse Supervisor for the health departments in both Dallas and Wilcox counties, said the free clinic would focus on shots needed by children near the ages of 4 and 11.

Wilkinson said children around 4-years-old will be able to receive DTap, MMR, IPV and Varicella vaccines, while 11-year-olds could receive a Tetanus shot, along with vaccines for Hepatitis A, Meningococcal and HPV, if they have not already. Wilkinson said the vaccines are important, not just for the child getting the shot in the arm, but also for everyone in that child’s community.

“It’s very important, because it is important for the community,” Wilkinson said. “The reason we don’t hear about measles, bad cases of chicken pox, or diphtheria is because people are getting these shots. If people started to decide not to have these vaccines, we would probably hear about these diseases becoming more common.”

Wilkinson said any parent is welcome to bring their child to Friday’s event, whether they have received treatment at the Dallas County Health Department previously or not.

“If they’ve not received vaccines here, they can bring any vaccine information they have,” Wilkinson said. “But most of the time, we can get all that information off of the computer.”

Wilkinson said she will be working alongside three nurses Friday, in hopes of making sure each child can be seen in a reasonable amount of time.

“How long it takes each patient just depends on how busy we are,” Wilkinson said. “If people have questions at that time, we can discuss any questions or concerns they might have about the different vaccines.”

For more information about Friday’s clinic or the different vaccines, call the Dallas County Health Department at 872-6687.