School District Offers 7th Graders Free Whooping Cough Booster Shots

The State of California requires that all students entering or transferring into seventh grade this school year have proof of having an adolescent whooping cough booster immunization.

Seventh graders in all future school years will also have to have the shots.

To help students make the deadline, the Los Angeles Unified School District is offering free shots at various clinics in the city. No Encino or Tarzana locations are available, but there are some as close as Reseda. See the table below for the full list.

The law requiring boosters, also called Tdap shots, affects students in both public and private schools and, in addition to whooping cough, also prevents tetanus and diphtheria.

The contagious whooping cough, also known as pertussis, causes violent coughing fits that make breathing difficult. Symptoms can last for months and is especially dangerous to babies.

Tetanus causes painful muscle spasms, including lockjaw, which can limit swallowing and breathing.

Diptheria is a serious bacterial infection that generally causes a sore throat, swollen glands, fever and chills, but if it's not diagnosed and treated, it can lead to heart failure and paralysis.

Under the law, some exemptions are allowed. If immunizations are contrary to personal beielfs or are not medically indicated (per a doctor's statement), immunizations are exempt, according to the Department of Public Health, whose Shots for School webpage has more details about immunizations.

Following are the dates and locations of the free Tdap clinics. Clinics are open from 7:30 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Eagle Rock High School

1750 Yosemite Drive, Los Angeles