Officials Rush To Spread Word on Pertussis Vaccine Mandate
School and public health officials are ramping up efforts to educate the public about a new state law (AB 354) that requires students from seventh through 12th grade to receive the pertussis, or whooping cough, vaccination before school begins in the fall. Students who receive the vaccine but do not have the proper paperwork filed with schools could be barred from entering classrooms. According to Robert Schechter -- a medical officer in the immunization branch at the California Department of Public Health -- about three million California children are affected by the law.
- "Children Without Proof They Got a Whooping Cough Booster Shot May Have To Miss Class in Fall" (Ravindran, San Jose Mercury News, 4/25).