Students entering the Kimball Public School system for the first time must show they have been immunized against 10 different diseases.That sounds like a lot of vaccinations, immunizations and shots. Some of the vaccines can be combined, which cuts down on the number of needle sticks required.All of these inoculations are given by needle injection. Most of the time, the child gets these inoculations early in life and likely need no more injections when time to entering the school system for the first time.According to Kerry Ferguson of Kimball Health Services, immunization  clinics are held at the Health Services facility on select Tuesdays each month. The clinics are sponsored by the State in cooperation with Panhandle Community Services. Federal funds are involved.Julie Heilbrun  and Pennie Anderson, Kimball Health Services, said clinics are also held the third Tuesday of every other month. These third Tuesday clinics are held in both July and August to accommodate the pre-school rush. Heilburn said that an electronic master record is kept so research can be done quickly if a child’s shot record is not available. Appointments can be scheduled by phoning 235-1952 Ext. 511. Children must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Bring available shot records along.The clinic is free but contributions of all sizes are gratefully accepted.All told, the children are inoculated against 10 different diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, meningitis, hepatitis, measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox.Kimball Health Services also immunizes youngsters against pneumonia, although the school district does not require pneumonia inoculation,Diphtheria affects the upper respiratory system. In bygone years, the Schick test was used to determine whether or not a person was susceptible to diphtheria. A vaccine for diphtheria was developed in  the 1920s and the number of diphtheria related deaths dropped after that. The effects of tetanus or lockjaw are well known. Every child is warned over and over “not to step on rusty nails” to avoid getting tetanus.Whooping cough is still common in third world countries. The name comes from the gasping sound made as the patient struggles to breathe after a series of strong coughs.Polio was a dreaded word not too many years ago. Many times paralysis of the legs resulted. Sometimes the muscles involved in breathing were affected and the unfortunate patient was put in an iron lung to aid in the breathing process. Back in the 1950s, entire wards in some hospitals were filled with rows of iron lung machines.Commercials on television this past week remind us that meningitis can be fatal in 24 hours. It can also cause such effects as deafness and epilepsy. Hepatitis comes in several varieties, all of which affect the liver,Measles is characterized by cough, runny nose and red eyes. It can lead to diarrhea, pneumonia and scarring of the cornea.We all know the jaw and neck swelling otten associated with mumps. Teenage and adult males can become infertile as a result of mumps.Rubella is often called German measles. That is because German doctors were the first to identify the disease, It’s complications are usually not severe.Finally, the required vaccinations combat chicken pox. This disease causes pus filled blisters to form, which itch and are painful. The fluid in the blisters is highly contagious. The worst part of chicken pox is that it sometimes develops into shingles later in life.Thank heavens these diseases can largely be avoided by using the vaccines available today.That was not always the case.Inoculation for smallpox is thought to have started in China and India before 200 B. C. A British lady reported in 1718 that the Turks were inoculating against smallpox. Dr. Edward Jenner tested the use of cowpox vaccine as a vaccine against smallpox around 1796. It worked and with continued vaccine use, the planet was declared to be free of smallpox back in 1979..Louis Pasteur developed a rabies immunization about 1885 and  a vaccine against anthrax, a disease of sheep and cattle. Pasteur’s medical accomplishments are many.Polio vaccines were developed by Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin. There have also been improvements in ventilations systems that blow air into polio patients lungs. The result of the vaccines and the newer ventilation systems is that iron lungs have essentially disappeared.A representative of the Nebraska Immunization Program said that the American Committee of Immunization Practice had just met to develop recommendations concerning vaccine and the expected swine flu outbreak. These recommendations would go on to the Center for Disease Control, where a national policy will be developed.In the face of this listing of dreary diseases, the requirement that children be immunized is a welcome relief in a world full of infectious disease. The Kimball Public School ad in the Observer issue of July 30 states, referring to kindergarten or new student registration, that “Attendance is not permitted without an up-to-date immunization record ... .” That is a pretty plain statement. The Tuesday immunization clinics made available at Kimball Health Services provide a convenient way to take care of any blanks on the immunization record.The possibility of opting out of the immunization program does exist for religious or medical reasons. Affidavits for such refusal of immunization are available at the school.