The first day of school in the mammoth Los Angeles school district is just days away, and the district is reminding parents that all incoming seventh graders in California must now be vaccinated against whooping cough.
New state laws require booster vaccinations against whopping cough, also called pertussis, before they may enter a seventh grade class. Most toddlers are given such shots, but their effectiveness against the very-contagious, severe malady can wane with time.
LAUSD officials have been calling, mailing and Twittering parents all summer, but said they expect some students to arrive for the first day of classes without their certificates.
Free clinics to administer the pertussis booster shots, which are called a "tdap" shot, will be held from 7:30 a.m. to noon and again from 1 to 1:30 p.m. on the following schedule:
- Monday at the Zelzah District Nursing Clinic, 6505 Zelzah Ave., Reseda; and at the Bret Harte Prep Middle School, 9301 S. Hoover St., South Los Angeles;
- Tuesday at Eagle Rock High, 1750 Yosemite Dr., Eagle Rock; and at Mark Twain Middle School, 2224 Walgrove Ave., Mar Vista;
- Wednesday at the Zelzah District Nursing Clinic, 6505 Zelzah Ave., Reseda; Wilmington Middle School, 1700 Gulf Ave., Wilmington; and Edison Middle School, 6500 Hooper St., South Los Angeles;
- Thursday at Bret Harte Prep Middle School, 9301 S. Hoover St., South Los Angeles; and
- Friday at Bret Harte Prep Middle School, 9301 S. Hoover St., South Los Angeles; the Zelzah District Nursing Clinic, 6505 Zelzah Ave., Reseda; and Edison Middle School, 6500 Hooper St., South Los Angeles.
