A continuing nationwide vaccine shortage means children entering schools in Jefferson and Clallam counties are temporarily excused from getting certain immunizations, the state Board of Health decided.
Dwindling supplies of vaccine for DtaP — diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) — booster shots mean students will be able to enroll under “conditional status” without those shots this fall.
When the shortage is over, children on conditional status will have 60 days to bring their immunizations up to date, said Dr. Tom Locke, health officer of Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Locke, who discussed the vaccine shortage at a Jefferson County Board of Health meeting Thursday, said the shortage won’t pose a serious health concern in local schools.
“Parents should not be concerned about sending kids to school,” he said. “The increased risk of seeing a whooping cough outbreak is very small.”
Tetanus can’t be transmitted person-to-person in a classroom setting, Locke said. Diphtheria was last seen in 1985.
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