Pasco County Schools is teaming up with the Florida Department of Health to provide free Tdap vaccinations to current sixth graders at the county’s middle schools on May 22.
Students entering seventh grade in Florida must provide proof of the Tdap vaccination — which stands for tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis — before they will be allowed to start school, according to state health officials.
Parents must sign a permission form before their child can be vaccinated, and must be submitted to the school their child attends by May 1.
The vaccinations are required because tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis can be very serious diseases, according to a fact sheet prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Tdap vaccine can provide protection.
Tetanus also is known as lockjaw. It causes painful muscle tightening and stiffness, typically all over the body. It can lead to tightening of muscles in the head and neck, and make it difficult or impossible for someone to open his or her mouth, to swallow, or even to breathe.
It is fatal for about one in five people who are infected, according to the CDC.
Diphtheria can cause a thick coating to form in the back of the throat. It can lead to breathing problems, paralysis, heart failure and death.
Pertussis also is known as whooping cough. It causes severe coughing spells, which can cause difficulty breathing, vomiting and sleep disruptions. It can lead to weight loss, incontinence and rib fractures. As many as two in 100 adolescents and five in 100 adults are hospitalized or have complications, which could include pneumonia or death.
Diphtheria and pertussis are spread from person to person through coughing or sneezing, according to the CDC. Tetanus enters the body through cuts, scratches or wounds.
Before vaccines, there were as many as 200,000 cases of diphtheria and pertussis a year, and hundreds of cases of tetanus. Since vaccination began, tetanus and diphtheria have dropped by about 99 percent, and pertussis by about 80 percent, the CDC said.
The health department has scheduled when the vaccinations will be given at each of the district’s middle schools. The schedule for the May 22 vaccinations locally is:
• Long Middle School: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Rushe Middle School: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• Stewart Middle School: 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Centennial Middle School: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• Weightman Middle School: Noon to 2 p.m.
• Pasco Middle School: 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
• Pine View Middle School: 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
For additional information, call the health department at (727) 861-5250, at either ext. 268 or ext. 224, or the school district’s health services office at (727) 774-2360, (813) 794-2360, or (352) 524-2360.
Published April 23, 2014
