CHESAPEAKE
As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 3,000 rising sixth-graders in South Hampton Roads school divisions had not yet turned in their required vaccination paperwork.
If it's not done by Tuesday, they could be barred from school.
The state requires rising sixth-grade students to get a booster shot known as the Tdap before starting school. It protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough).
Virginia Beach had 669 students out of a class of about 5,000 still missing their paperwork by late Wednesday. Chesapeake had 768 students out of about 2,900; Norfolk had 1,197 students out of a little over 2,200 and Suffolk had 478 students out of 1,077.
When Portsmouth schools performed their last count in June, they were missing paperwork for 866 students out of a class of 1,024. Only a few have arrived since then, said spokeswoman Sharon Harris.
"We're looking at Tuesday having quite a few students that won't be in class," she said.
The numbers are likely to change quickly as the first day of school draws closer, said Suffolk schools spokeswoman Bethanne Bradshaw. Suffolk schools were scheduled to hold an orientation Thursday evening, and parents often turn in their paperwork then, Bradshaw said.
Lawmakers made the sixth-grade booster a requirement in 2006 to prevent outbreaks of whooping cough. Middle-school students are considered more susceptible because the effects of their first vaccinations have begun to wane.
The one-dose boosters are free at local health departments, but city offices will be closed Monday for Labor Day.
Alicia Wittmeyer, (757) 222-5216, alicia.wittmeyer@pilotonline.com
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