School District Wants Students To Get A Head Start on Immunizations

Menifee Union School District is now sending letters home with students asking parents to make sure they are immunized with the T-DAP (Whooping Cough, Pertussis) Booster in preparation for the next school year.

The T-DAP Booster is required for students entering the 7th through 12th grades, due to State legislation that went into effect July 1, 2011, and applies to both public and private schools.

"We want to get the word out early to parents about the T-DAP Booster, even though we're still several months away from the next school year", says Betti Cadmus, public information officer for the school district.

When the current school year started last Fall, the district managed to reach nearly a 100% compliance rate thanks to an aggressive publicity campaign. "We only had a handful of students who were not allowed to enter", Cadmus explained. "Otherwise, we did extremely well in preparing our students for class."

The district requires students entering middle school to bring written documentation of their T-DAP immunization to the School Health Office at the earliest convenience. Failure to comply will result in the student being excluded on the first day of school, until the requirement is met.

Parents should see their family physician to make sure their child is protected against Pertussis.