State to Require New Vaccinations for 6th-12th Graders: What Do You Think?
Do you think the state of Illinois should require students to receive the Tdap booster shot in order to remain in school?
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The Illinois State Board of Health has approved new recommendations from the Illinois Department of Public Health and The Illinois Department of Education to require all students in sixth grade through senior year of high school to have an additional vaccination.
The students will now need to show proof of receiving the Tdap booster shot. The vaccine immunizes against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.
“We’ve seen an increase in pertussis, or whooping cough, in Illinois during the last six years. Medical experts have found whooping cough has been on the rise in pre-teens and teens, indicating a waning immunity from infant and childhood immunizations,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck in a press release.
Last year, Illinois required sixth and ninth grade students to receive the vaccine.
Students must either show proof of having received this vaccination, must have an appointment to get the vaccine or have an approved medical or religious exemption on file.
Students who do not meet one of these three conditions by Oct. 15, 2013, will not be allowed to attend school until they do.
For the sixth and ninth graders who already got the vaccine, they do not need to get another shot, but do need to show proof of being vaccinated previously.
Information provided by the Illinois State Board of Education.
Do you think the state of Illinois should be telling parents how to vaccinate their children? Do you think it’s fair that those who refuse vaccinations will not be allowed to attend school? Tell us in the comments section.
Kate F.
6:07 am on Thursday, February 21, 2013
My daughter contracted whooping cough (pertussis) two years ago when she was a junior in high school...AND YES, she was vaccinated as a child. Unfortunately, given her age, pertussis was the last thing we suspected and didn't seek medical help until a month into it, when the nagging, sometimes breath-taking cough wouldn't go away. At that point, medication would not help. So she missed out on classes, because once the coughing started it would not subside for 10-15 minutes and was extremely disruptive to others, so she would excuse herself from class. She could not participate in PE. Coughing fits during the night disrupted sleep. This lasted for eight months. To this day, she is much more susceptible to upper respiratory infections and is sick quite a bit. I can only imagine how many others she may have infected, especially since we didn't know what we were dealing with early on. YES, I do believe that vaccines should be required to attend school. These diseases put great numbers of children at risk, especially in schools, where they are in close quarters for six or more hours a day. We have become complacent as so many of these illnesses are rare due to vaccines. My mother's brother died as a result of whooping cough (pre-vaccine days). We have ways to prevent that from happening and must be diligent in continuing to combat the illness.