Deadline Looms for Pertussis Vaccination

In less than a week, students in the 7th through 12th grades who haven't received a booster shot for pertussis (whooping cough) won't be allowed to come to school.

Vaccines have been in the national spotlight lately, but regardless of your opinions of certain vaccines, the state is mandating that all 7th to 12th graders receive their pertussis shots 30 days after the first day of school, or Sept. 26 for the .

Of the 8,200 students in the Sequoia Union High School District, each school has the following number of students who still have not received their shots as of last week. Updated numbers will be posted once they are received.

• Sequoia High School: 620
• Woodside High School: 475
• Carlmont High School: 504
• Redwood High School: 100
• Menlo-Atherton High School: 73

California is requiring all older students to get the booster for the first time this year in response to recent whooping cough outbreaks. Whooping cough is uncomfortable for adolescents and adults but deadly for infants, according to the district nurse from South San Francisco, Bonnie White. Getting more people covered by the vaccine will protect babies who are too young to be vaccinated.

In San Mateo County, there have been a large number of whooping cough incidents, but no deaths. In Southern California, 10 infants had died of pertussis last year.

The deadline for the booster shot was originally the first day of school, but the state legislature approved a 30-day exemption for all school districts.

Students can get the shot at their family doctor or pharmacies at CVS. They can also make an appointment at a county health clinic.

Students who have received a DTP, DTaP or Tdap shot at the age of seven or older are covered for pertussis and don't need to get a new booster, White said.

After this year, only incoming 7th graders will be required to get the booster shot, but it's a hard push this year to get a huge number of students vaccinated, especially when parents aren't used to needing immunizations for older children.