Mayor Bowser Encourages Families to Put Required Childhood Vaccinations on Their Back-to-School Lists

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Families out of date with required immunizations can expect direct outreach

Washington, DC – Today, DC Health joined Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn at Mary’s Center’s Fort Totten location to encourage parents and caregivers to ensure that their children are up-to-date with their vaccinations before the start of the school year and to provide parents and caregivers with information on how and where, their children can receive their required vaccinations.

The best place for DC families to access immunizations is through their primary medical provider. However, DC Health and its partners are also offering special vaccination opportunities across all eight wards. These include:

Fast-track, vaccination-only clinics at Mary’s Center, Unity Health Care, and Children’s National Medical Center clinics:

Mary’s Center: Vaccine-only appointments daily at all three DC health centers;

Petworth Health Center, 3912 Georgia Ave NW (Ward 4)
Fort Totten Health Center, 100 Gallatin St NE (Ward 5)
Adams Morgan Health Center, 2333 Ontario St NW (Ward 1)

Unity Health Care: Saturdays 8 am to 12 pm in August and September at:

Anacostia Health Center, 1500 Galen St SE (Ward 8)
Brentwood Health Center, 1251-B Saratoga Ave NE (Ward 5)
Upper Cardozo Health Center, 3020 14th St NW (Ward 1)

Children’s National: Tuesday through Friday at all 5 Goldberg Health Centers and Saturday at select health centers

School-Based Health Centers

Open weekdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm for any DC student. Call to make an appointment or click here to book online.

Anacostia HS
1601 16th Street SE
(202) 724-5529
Ballou HS
3401 4th Street SE
(202) 645-3843
Cardozo EC
1200 Clifton Street NW
(202) 727-5148
Coolidge HS
6315 5th Street NW
(202) 847-4077
Dunbar HS
101 N Street NW
(202) 724-4086
Roosevelt HS
4301 13th Street NW
(202) 727-6333
HD Woodson HS
540 55th Street NE
(202) 724-2287

Mobile Clinics

Appointments are available from 10 am to 3:30 pm at select DCPS and public charter schools. Click here to book online. If you need the form in Spanish, click here. Appointments are available tomorrow, July 28, at Sousa Middle School in Ward 7.

For the latest schedules and locations for these clinics, visit dchealth.dc.gov/immunizations.

District law requires students in all DC schools including private, parochial, and independent schools, to be fully compliant with required vaccinations to attend school, and that schools verify immunization certification for all students as part of enrollment and attendance. Families can download the Universal Health Certificate and the DC Oral Health Assessment Form here.

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is coordinating closely with local education agencies (LEAs) across the city to support schools with technical assistance and guidance, as well as with direct outreach to families. DC Public Schools (DCPS) is reaching out to families via phone calls, emails and text messages to remind them to submit their immunization paperwork before the start of school. As part of its back-to-school efforts, DCPS will host a “call-a-thon” to reach non-English speaking families on August 9, mobilizing volunteers and staff to help answer questions from families about student immunizations to attend school. More information can be found at dcpsreopenstrong.com/vaccines.

Mayor Bowser, DC Health, OSSE, and DC Public Schools want all children to return to school in the fall feeling safe and strong. We also want parents and caregivers to feel peace of mind in knowing their child is in a safe environment when they are in school.