FLORENCE COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – The Department of Health and
Environmental Control is mandating that all 7th graders get the
Whooping Cough vaccine, starting in the 2013 school year, along with administrators
in Florence County School District One.
This is the first time in nearly a
decade the district has required an urgent vaccination. The Tdap
vaccine will be required for all rising seventh graders in the 2013-2014 school
year to protect students from Pertussis (Whooping cough).
"To me you can't be too safe,"
says Kelly Fox, who knows the dangers of whooping cough. She says her friend's
son had the sickness, and it was one of the scariest things she has ever seen.
"Every time he would get a
coughing spell he was dying in her arms," she says. Kelly is just one of many
parents who agree this vaccination is needed.
Lorna mcbride is the Director of Elementary
Education for Florence School District One, but she also has a family tie to
the district: her granddaughter goes to school there, and she says knowing the
district is being proactive is reassuring
"I'm just glad that the
information is going out, and that are parents will be informed," McBride says.
DHEC officials say knowing the basics
about whooping cough is the best way to keep you and your family healthy. The
illness is spread through coughing, that can actually sound like a "whoop."
Symptoms include fever, headache and, of course, coughing. You could have the
disease for up to two weeks before you notice symptoms, so health experts say
the sooner you and your kids get that vaccine - the better.
Parents of sixth graders are advised to make appointments to
receive the vaccine now in order to provide a South Carolina Certificate of
Immunization showing their child has received the newly required Tdap Vaccine
before the school year begins.
For more information about the vaccine, contact Florence One Lead
Nurse Sonya Best at 843-673-1158 or your local health care provider.
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