To Parents of 5th Grade Students:

Effective January 1, 2008, the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services
added one
booster dose of Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) to the required vaccinations for
entry
into the 6th.

Administrative rule 10ANCAC41A states: A booster of the
tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis
vaccine is required for individuals attending public school who are entering the sixth
grade on
or after August 1, 2008, if five years or more have passed since the last dose of
tetanus/diphtheria toxoid. A booster dose of tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis vaccine is
required
for individuals not attending public schools who are 12 years of age on or after
8/1/08, if five
years or more have passed since the last dose of tetanus/diphtheria toxoid. However,
pertussis
(whooping cough) vaccine is not required for individuals between 7 years of age
through the
fifth grade for those attending schools and 7 through 12 years of age for those not
attending
public schools.

Please call your child’s Pediatrician or the New Hanover County Health
Department (910)
798-6500, as soon as possible to update their vaccinations.