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NEGAUNEE TWP. -- Kindergarten parents, read carefully.

Before your children start school, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggests that they receive the following seven immunizations:  the D-TAP, the MMR, the Polio, the Pneumococcal, the Hib, the Hepatitis-B and the Chicken Pox vaccines.

"Parents do have the choice to opt out of these vaccines.  We, of course, do recommend that children receive their immunizations.  If a parent opts out, their child does not have--does not develop--immunity to these illnesses," says Dr. Kevin Piggott, Medical Director of the Marquette County Health Department.

Schools may have their own rules regarding immunizations.  Be sure to check with your child's school to see if they're properly vaccinated for their first day.

Another important vaccine specifically for adolescent females is the Human Papillomavirus vaccine.  HPV is known to be strongly associated with cervical cancer, and the doctor offers this advice:

"At this time, it certainly is a decision that parents need to make with their children.  And at this point, the initial recommendation is to consider it at 11 to 12 years of age."

The doctor says that parents who believe their children are being over-immunized have valid parental arguments, but medical research through-and-through finds that these vaccinations offer children their best chance at a healthy life.