Parents: New Whooping Cough Vaccination Law

Students entering the seventh through twelfth grades must be immunized against whooping cough, due to a new law in effect on Friday.

The law applies to both public and private schools. Students cannot attend school before showing proof — a signed form indicating that they have received the "Tdap" booster vaccination, according to the California Department of Public Health's Immunization Branch. The Tdap vaccine immunizes adolescents against tetanus and diphtheria in addition to pertussis, which is commonly known as whooping cough.

"This is a very safe vaccine that's been around for a very long time," said Dr. Myles Abbott, who's been a physician at East Bay Pediatrics for 33 years.

The new law (AB 354) comes after a whooping cough epidemic was declared in California in July 2010. Between January 1 and June 30 of 2010, the CDC reports there was a 418 percent increase in whooping cough cases statewide from the same period in 2009.

Dr. Abbott said the law applies to older kids and teens because they are the most likely to pass the disease to younger children, like infants and toddlers. "They're at increased risk of getting the disease, and their airways are smaller so they can't handle the disease as well," he said. "They can die of respiratory distress."

There is a clause in California law that still allows parents to exempt their children from the whooping cough booster by citing it being against their "personal beliefs" before school starts. If there is an outbreak of a disease, schools can temporarily require children with personal belief exemptions to stop attending classes. Information is here: http://www.shotsforschool.org/immunizationlaws.html*

Statewide, ten infants died from whooping cough last year, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Dr. Abbott said an increased number of parents are already coming in to East Bay Pediatrics to get their children immunized and comply with the law. "A lot of parents had forgot their kids had already got it," he said referring to Tdap. "The vaccine is usually given at age 11."

Whooping cough is a highly-contagious disease with cold-like symptoms, including violent coughing that causes the ill person to make a "whooping" noise, according to the CDC. This may lead to vomiting and exhaustion. Earlier symptoms are a runny nose, mild fever and apnea, or a pause in breathing, in infants — whom the disease is most dangerous for. Some cases of whooping cough may require hospitalization.

Children can get immunized during a well visit with their physician or by visiting a community clinic, such as the on University Avenue at 6th Street. 

The California Department of Public Health advises that all Californians be vaccinated against whooping cough.

*California Watch reported last July that across the Bay in Marin County seven percent of kindergartners had personal belief exemptions. The county also had the state's highest rate of whooping cough cases. Information is provided here: http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/are-10000-kindergartners-driving-whooping-cough-epidemic-3398