Created: 7/10/2008 5:40:25 PM 
Rockingham County, NC - Your children may not like shots, but some will need one before the new school year.
A new state law requires students heading into the 6th grade get the Tdap vaccine by August 1st. There's plenty of the booster shot available, but parents are not bringing their kids to the doctor to get it.
In Rockingham County, less than a third of 6th grade students turned in their up to date immunization record. If students don't have the shot by August 1st, they will not be able to attend the first day of school.
The last place kids want to be during the summer is the doctor's office. "It's really scary and I've never liked shots that much," said rising 6th grade student, Holly Odell.
Odell got the booster at the Rockingham County Health Department. Tdap protects against pertussis, better known as whooping cough.
"We've had a lot of sicknesses going on, and I need a booster shot to make sure I don't get sick," said Odell.
But not all students are as motivated as Odell. She's one of a few who have come in for the shot.
"Most of them will come in before school starts and that's when we'll be very very busy," said Marnie Tate, a registered nurse for the Rockingham County Health Department.
The law requires 6th graders and children 12 years or older to get the shot. Students who have not received the Tdap booster in 5 years also need the dose. College students need the vaccine if 10 years have passed since their last Tdap booster. And all students enrolling in school or college for the first time must take a second mumps vaccine.
"The needle's like that long," Odell showed us. "You're like 'oh my goodness' but it really feels like a "beep" and then its gone," she said.
Odell got the shot she needs and can now start school. But some of her classmates may not get the message in time.
"I wasn't aware of the deadline," said Holly's mother Patricia Odell. "I don't know, there may be other parents who aren't aware." Students with out-dated immunization records can not enroll in school. Children have 30 days after the August 1st deadline to provide proof they received the Tdap shot. If they don't, the school system will expel them.
All county health departments carry the vaccine. The shot is free and no appointment is required. The Guilford County Health Department is offering a free mobile vaccination clinic on July 22nd. Nurses will administer the one-dose booster to children from 1pm until 4pm at the Benbow Professional Center in Greensboro.
WFMY News 2
