PSUSD partners with Desert Oasis Healthcare to offer free vaccinations ahead of school year
Kendall Flynn
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) — The school year is just around the corner, especially for students at the Palm Springs Unified School District who are back in school first on August 6th. With the school year, comes preparations for students like being up to date on vaccinations.
PSUSD will be holding free Tdap vaccinations at their middle schools for six days between July 22-31. All students entering 7th through 12th grade are required by California State law to show proof of a Tdap booster vaccine before starting school on August 6th.
The Tdap vaccine is for tetanus, which enters the body through cuts or wounds and diphtheria and pertussis, which are spread from person to person.
Information on each aspect of the vaccine, according to the CDC:
Tetanus can lead to serious health problems, including being unable to open the mouth, difficulty swallowing and breathing, or death. It causes painful stiffening of the muscles.
Diphtheria can lead to difficulty breathing, heart failure, paralysis or death.
Pertussis is also known as “whooping cough,” which can cause uncontrollable and violent coughing that makes eating, drinking or breathing difficult. It can be serious for babies and young children causing convulsions, pnuemonia, brain damage or death. In adults and teens, it can cause weight loss, loss of bladder control, passing out or rib fractures from coughing.
Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from officials and families on the free vaccination day.
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