The chart below, from the Minnesota Department of Health Immunization program, will help you determine whether your child has had the necessary shots to attend school.

To find the number of shots your child needs, find your child's age or grade level for this fall and read across the table. Read each row separately. (Don't add up the totals for each column.) Note that because of changing requirements, the number of shots differ for the various rows. Read only the row for your child's current age/grade level.

To attend school, Minnesota students must show they've had the shots below or have a legal exemption filed with the school. Parents may file a medical exemption signed by a health care provider or sign and have notarized a conscientious objection.

The Health Department recommends shots for pneumococcal disease for children under 5 but the shots aren't required for school.

Note: The Minnesota Department of Health recommends that all children be protected by hepatitis B shots, not just those required by law to have them. The department also recommends that children ages 2 and up with chronic health conditions such as asthma and diabetes have a yearly influenza shot, as well as children 6 to 23 months old and anyone 23 months or older. Contact your doctor for more information.

	DTaP/Td/Tdap diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough)	Polio	MMR measles, mumps, rubella	Hib Haemophilus influenzae type b	Hepatitis B	Varicella* Chickenpox
Preschool	4 shots	3 shots	1 shot	at least 1 shot	0	1 shot
Kindergarten	5 shots (5th shot not needed if 4th was after age 4)	4 shots (4th not needed if 3rd was after age 4)	2 shots	0	3 shots	1 shot
Age 7 through 6th grade	at least 3 shots	at least 3 shots	1 shot	0	0	0
7th through 12th grade	at least 3 shots and 1Td or Tdap shot required at age 11 or older**	at least 3 shots	2 shots	0	3 shots, 7th grade only***	1 shot, 7th grade only

* Varicella shot not required if child already had chickenpox. By fall 2008, two doses will be required for all entering kindergarteners and seventh graders.
** Unless a Td (tetanus and diphtheria) was given after the 7th birthday; then it must be repeated 10 years after the last dose. Tdap (tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and acellular pertussis, for adolescents) or Td is recommended at age 11-12.
***An alternate two-dose schedule of hepatitis B may also be used for children ages 11 through 15.