A Kentucky House committee has advance a bill that would require college freshmen students to undergo “catchup immunizations” before they begin school. The vaccinations would cover diseases like measles, meningitis, and whooping cough. Bill sponsor Addia Wuchner said a new state regulation requires this immunization in the eleventh grade, but it won’t cover all students.
“There are going be students who are not going to have come under that new reg. There could be students coming in internationally that maybe had not had it as well.”
Wuchner said some public universities in Kentucky already carry the immunization requirement for entering freshmen.
Paris doctor Patti Swiney said requiring these immunizations can help prevent a serious illness like meningitis.
“Whooping cough is actually called the hundred day cough," she said. "So, even though you’re not contagious for a hundred days, that cough can last for up to a hundred days. And that’s a severe cough.”
Lexington Health Department officials have reported a number of recent whooping cough cases at one elementary school.
