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§ 6253. Findings

Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated StatutesTitle 35 P.S. Health and SafetyEffective: December 22, 2014

Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated Statutes
Title 35 P.S. Health and Safety (Refs & Annos)
Chapter 32A. Pertussis Education Act
Effective: December 22, 2014
35 P.S. § 6253
§ 6253. Findings
Currentness
The General Assembly finds as follows:
(1) Commonly known as whooping cough, pertussis is a highly contagious disease that can be prevented by vaccination.
(2) During 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an increase in pertussis in the majority of states.
(3) Pennsylvania ranked 13th in the country in the incidence of reported cases of pertussis.
(4) Pennsylvania's incidence of pertussis is higher than the national incidence of cases of pertussis.
(5) Recommended vaccination for children is at 2, 4 and 6 months of age, followed by vaccination at 15 to 18 months of age, followed by vaccination when the child enters school with the final vaccination when the child is between 11 and 12 years of age.
(6) Pertussis can cause very serious illness which can be potentially life threatening in infants too young to be vaccinated.
(7) More than half of infants who contract pertussis must be hospitalized.
(8) Of those infants who are hospitalized with pertussis, about 1 in 5 will get pneumonia and 1 in 100 will die.
(9) The CDC recommends that families and caregivers of newborns be vaccinated at least two weeks prior to coming into close contact with a newborn.

Credits

2014, Oct. 22, P.L. 2602, No. 163, § 3, effective in 60 days [Dec. 22, 2014].
35 P.S. § 6253, PA ST 35 P.S. § 6253
Current through Act 10 of the 2024 Regular Session. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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