Roughly six hundred local junior high and high school students have yet to file proof of immunization for pertussis (whooping cough), which is now required by the state. But families can get a child immunized on a drop-in basis, for free, on Monday — just before classes begin Tuesday for students in the Davis public schools.

Dr. Paula Watts-White, Yolo County Public Health and the Davis school district will team up to run a free Tdap clinic from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday in the multipurpose room at Holmes Junior High School, 1220 Drexel Drive, Davis.

A new state law requires students age 11 and older to have a Tdap vaccine prior to starting school. The law was passed due to the increased number of cases of whooping cough in recent years, some parents choosing not to vaccinate, and a weaker primary pertussis vaccine that has been given for the past decade.

According to Pam Mari, director of student services with the Davis school district, there are about 4,250 students in the district who fit into the age range required to show proof of a Tdap vaccination.

The majority of families already have provided documentation that their student has been vaccinated, “but there are still about 600 families we have not heard from at this point,” Mari told the Davis school board Thursday night.

Some families are only becoming aware of the new state vaccination requirement as they come to register their student for the new school year.

Mari said that with the free clinic on Monday, “folks who have not yet had their student inoculated have a convenient and affordable way to do that.”

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