New Rule: Shots Before School

By law (Assembly Bill 354)  as of July 1, 2011, ALL students entering 7th through 12th grades in public and private schools will be required to show proof of a Tdap booster shot before starting school. (The tetanus-diphtheria, Td, will not meet the requirement.)

The law brings California in line with 40 other states with similar requirements.  It was introduced to decrease the number of cases of pertussis or whooping cough occurring each year. 2010, saw the worst outbreak of whooping cough in California in 47 years with over 8,500 cases reported and the deaths of 11 infants – all of which were preventable. Total estimates are that over 15,000 Sonoma County students have not yet received the Tdap vaccine.

The California Department of Public Health and the Department of Education have a website for schools, parents and medical providers: ShotsForSchool.org. The Sonoma County Public Health website also has resources and recommendations www.sonoma-county.org.