Back to School: Getting your kids vaccinated

Another big part of heading back to school for kids is vaccines. In Alaska, parents have the option to vaccinate their children. Dr. Monique Child with Polar Pediatrics said vaccinations are safe and effective.

"The way vaccines work is there is something called herd immunity by protected almost everyone. You protect everyone. When you have groups of people who are not vaccinating you loose that herd immunity and that disease can come back to the community, which is something we had with mumps," said Dr. Child.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reports an outbreak of mumps in Alaska over the past year. Dr. Child said it's from a decrease in immunity and an increase of parents who are not vaccinating their children.