California Students Get Leeway On Whooping Cough Shots

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- California parents rushing to get whooping cough shots for their children before school starts have just been given a bit of wiggle room.

   Gov. Jerry Brown signed emergency legislation Monday allowing schools to conditionally admit students who can't show proof of vaccination for up to 30 days.

   The legislation, SB614, supersedes a law that took effect July 1, requiring all 3 million California students entering grades seven through 12 to prove they've received a booster shot.

   Schools worried that students without up-to-date whooping cough vaccinations could miss days of school, putting them behind on the curriculum and costing districts attendance dollars.

   The state is being more vigilant about whooping cough in the wake of an epidemic last year that killed 10 infants and infected more than 9,000 people.

   (Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)