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Health

New Law Requires Whooping Cough Vaccine

By Joanne Faryon / Investigative Reporter
Published January 6, 2011 at 12:24 PM PST
This story was published more than 13 years ago.
A box of Tdap vaccinations is displayed on a table during a health fair August 11, 2010 in Vallejo, California. California medical officials are urging California residents to get booster shots for whooping cough as the state is in the midst of the largest outbreak in over fifty years.
Justin Sullivan
A box of Tdap vaccinations is displayed on a table during a health fair August 11, 2010 in Vallejo, California. California medical officials are urging California residents to get booster shots for whooping cough as the state is in the midst of the largest outbreak in over fifty years.

Clarification: The California Department of Public Health recommends all children 10 years and older receive whooping cough booster shots, but the new law applies to students entering 7th through 12th grade.

New Law Requires Whooping-Cough Vaccine
A new law requires California middle-schoolers to get a whooping-cough vaccine this year.

A new law requiring all California middle-school kids to get a whooping-cough vaccine goes into effect this year. Legislators passed the law in the midst of the worst whooping-cough outbreak in more than 60 years.

More than 1,100 adults and children have been diagnosed with whooping cough in San Diego County this year. Two babies have died from the disease.

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Children entering kindergarten are required to have five doses of the whooping-cough vaccine. The new law mandates a sixth dose for everyone 10 years and older. San Diego County deputy health officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger said the new law will affect about 130,000 students this year.

“So that’s why we’re trying to get the word out as early as we can so parents have many opportunities to get their children vaccinated before they enter school in the fall," Sidelinger said.

Whooping cough is an upper respiratory illness that in older children and adults can mimic a bad cold, but in infants can be fatal.

Health
Joanne Faryon
As an investigative reporter, Joanne Faryon worked with the team of journalists at inewsource, a nonprofit journalism enterprise embedded in the KPBS newsroom. Faryon has more than 20 years of experience as a journalist, working in a print, radio and TV. She previously worked in Canada and the U.S., specializing in investigative reporting. During her time at KPBS, Faryon served as reporter, host, and producer for both TV and radio. Among her many stories and investigations is the 2010 look into the effectiveness of the Whooping Cough vaccine. The series of in-depth features lead the Centers for Disease Control re-examine their reporting and change their guidelines. Faryon’s work has been honored by the USC's Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism with the Walter Cronkite Award for political journalism. The prestigious honor was for the Envision special, “Who’s Supervising San Diego?” – an in-depth look at the County’s Board of Supervisors. Faryon has also received an honorable mention from the National Press Foundation in 2010 for an in-depth look at the state's prison system as part of the Envision series. In addition, Faryon has earned two regional Emmys and several awards from the San Diego Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists. Her Canadian honors include a Manitoba Human Rights award for meritorious service for her investigative work on the Ku Klux Klan and right-wing extremism in Canada. Joanne has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Winnipeg and a creative communications diploma from Red River College.
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