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About 10 Fayetteville Students May Be Held Out Of School After Chickenpox Scare

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – About 10 Fayetteville High School students may not be allowed to attend classes starting Thursday because of chickenpox concerns, th...
fayetteville high school

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – About 10 Fayetteville High School students may not be allowed to attend classes starting Thursday because of chickenpox concerns, the school district announced Wednesday.

Two students at the school recently caught chickenpox, forcing the district to enact a measure to cut off the possibility of the virus spreading to other students. That includes making those who have not been vaccinated stay home.

New Arkansas vaccine regulations state students who have been exposed to chickenpox at school and have not had the second dose of the varicella vaccine must be withheld from school for 21 days. Just fewer than 10 students fit that requirement, but administrators have been unable to reach all of their parents. School staff members are preparing to act in case one or more of those students show up to school Thursday morning.

If the students show up to school, they will be brought into an office, and their parents will be called to pick them up, for the safety of the other students at the school, said school district spokesman Alan Wilbourn.

Those students may return to school before the 21-day safety period if they are vaccinated or can show they have had chickenpox before, Wilbourn said.

He said at least three students’ parents have told the district they do not plan on vaccinating their children.

Since the district announced the two chickenpox cases earlier this week, staff members have called hundreds of parents to check on students’ vaccination records and chickenpox history. Faculty and staff worked quickly in order to combat the highly-contagious nature of the virus, Wilbourn said.

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