There is no good reason for parents not to immunize their children.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month.

Safe and effective vaccines are available to protect adults and children alike against potentially life-threatening diseases such as tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, shingles, measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (chicken pox).

Students entering the seventh grade need proof of an adolescent pertussis (whooping cough) booster and adolescent meningococcal vaccinations, health officials have said.

Every child in a Georgia school system (kindergarten-12th grade), attending a child care facility or a student of any age entering a Georgia school for the first time is required by law to have a Georgia Immunization Certificate, Form 3231.

Children 16 years of age and older, who are entering the 11th grade (including new entrants), must have received one booster dose of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine, unless their initial dose was administered on or after their 16th birthday, according to the South Health District.

Meningococcal disease is a serious bacterial illness that affects the brain and the spinal cord. Meningitis can cause shock, coma and death within hours of the first symptoms.

To help protect your children and others from meningitis, Georgia law requires students be vaccinated against the disease, unless the child has an exemption.

To be fair, and accurate, there are a few — very few — medical exceptions for immunizations, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

All states, including Georgia, allow for medical exemptions for vulnerable children that might be more susceptible to serious side effects or reactions.

There is no science whatsoever to support outlandish claims that vaccines are somehow related to infant mortality, autism or other conditions.

Immunizations are both safe and effective, public health officials have said repeatedly.