Seventh-grader Emily Allred and her mom recently rode their bikes to the firehouse in the small Bitterroot Valley town of Corvallis. They were there for a back-to-school vaccine clinic put on by the Ravalli County health department. With one quick poke, Allred got up to date on her tetanus vaccine.

Allred’s mom, Melissa, said her older kids got chickenpox when they were younger. That’s what convinced her to immunize her family.

“It’s important. You know, smallpox was eradicated because of vaccines,” Allred said. “Polio is no longer a thing, and it used to cripple our grandparents. So, grateful they did this for us today.”

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