A new law that requires seventh-graders to be immunized for hepatitis B does not go into effect until July 1, but school nurses and public health officials are trying to get the word out to parents now.

The word is: Students who don't get their hepatitis B shots by the next school year won't be allowed to attend class.

And local health officials have lots of parents and children to reach.

Of the approximately 9,000 sixth-graders in Stanislaus County who will enter seventh grade in the fall, only 15 percent to 20 percent have received hepatitis B shots, according to Patti Cassinerio of the county Office of Education.

"It is a real concern to get those kids in for shots now," said Cassinerio, director of health services.

Hepatitis B immunizations require three shots over six months. After the first shot, the second shot must be given within two months. The third shot is given four months after that. All shots must be given within a year or the series starts over. The shots provide lifetime immunity.

To help inform parents of the new requirement, the county Health Services Agency this week is observing Preteen Vaccination Week. The county's Public Health Department and some elementary schools will host immunization drives.

Schools started notifying parents about the requirement last fall. Some have given parents and students the chance to get the shots at their school.

Last month at Somerset Middle School in Modesto, at least 70 children showed up for an after-school immunization clinic. Public health workers administered the shots.

The new law is part of a plan to protect people against hepatitis B, said Rose Ann Peterson of the Health Services Agency.

In 1997, hepatitis B shots were required for children entering kindergarten and those enrolled in day care.

"It's a three-pronged approach," Peterson said. "We have infants immunized. The next step was kindergartners. The third step, seventh-graders. The intention was starting with the year 2005, graduating classes will be immunized for hepatitis B."

The hepatitis B requirement for middle school-age children falls in line with updated recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Don Malberg of the state Department of Health.

Several years ago, the CDC recommended hepatitis B shots for people in high risk groups: those having unprotected sex, intravenous drug users who share needles, and people whose occupations put them in contact with human blood.

And because most people are diagnosed with hepatitis B as young adults, health officials want to target young people before they start engaging in any risky behavior.

Hepatitis B is spread through direct contact with blood or bodily fluids from an infected person. Babies, for instance, can get hepatitis B from their mothers.

In the United States, 200,000 people are diagnosed with hepatitis B every year, according to the CDC. More than 4,000 people die every year due to cirrhosis and liver cancer caused by hepatitis B.

What's scarier: More than 1 million people carry the hepatitis B virus and many of them don't know even it. A person infected with the virus might not have any symptoms.

Dr. Deborah Shassetz, a pediatrician with Sutter Gould Medical Foundation, lauded the new requirement. "It's a great thing. It's about time," she said. "Most people are diagnosed when they are young adults."

For more information about the hepatitis B requirement, contact your child's school nurse or the following public health agencies: Stanislaus County, 558-4818; San Joaquin County, 468-3830; Merced County, 385-7710.

Reprinted by permission of Modesto Bee.