2 minute read
Cough control
Tdap vaccines are being offered on campus
William Lee Overvold/ Roundup
Pertussis has made a comeback in Los Angeles. Not here at Pierce College. Pertussis, a highly contagious bacterial disease that causes uncontrollable coughing.
As cases of Pertussis, more widely known as whooping cough, continue to grow in Los Angeles County. Cases of Pertussis at Pierce College have been at a zero far this year.
“There are no cases, not in this health center, in LA County absolutely they have. There is an epidemic in LA County and I have made the decision to just administer the Tdap vaccine to prevent this illness,” said Beth Benne, director of the Student Health Center.
When a person has emotional and mental stress you have a breakdown in your immune system and they get physical aliments according to Benne.
Benne strongly recommends the Tdap vaccine to every adult who comes in to the Student Health Center. Tdap is a vaccine, which covers tetanus, diphtheria and Pertussis.
Several students and other staff members agree with Benne’s suggestion.
“I hate shots but I am going to get the Tdap and the flu vaccine because I can’t afford to get sick,” said Veronica McCall, a sophomore theater student.
Pertussis is more severe in children than in adults.
“What happens is that there are a lot of parents that aren’t vaccinating their kids anymore,” said
Mark Weber, an emergency room nurse at Providence Tarzana Medical Center, who also works at the Student Health Center.
This leaves children at risk for whooping cough and it is very likely they can spread it to their siblings.
“Parents get it from their children but they do not have the whoop sound to their cough like children do so they do not know they are sick with Pertussis,” said Benne.
Kathleen Reiter-Vasquez Director of the Child Development Center at Pierce hasn’t seen, much of an outbreak with children at our development center.
“We don’t have an outbreak of Pertussis here. We have not had an unusual amount of children sick,” she said. “The number one thing as far as health is washing hands. Start habits at a young age, good and bad habits start and form.”
