Reminders from Sick Bay

IMPORTANT REMINDER- CONSENT REQUIRED - DUE BY 13/09/2024

Year 7 Immunisation  

Dear Year 7 Parents/Carers/Guardians,

Whitehorse City Council’s Immunisation Team will be visiting your school to offer free immunisations to all students in Year 7 this year on Tuesday, 15th of October 2024. Year 7 students will be receiving the following vaccines:

• Human Papilloma Virus (Gardasil) (one dose)
• Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (Boostrix) (one dose)

All parents/guardians must complete the online digital consent form. Please complete the student and parent details and provide consent, either ‘Yes, granted’ or ‘No, denied’. At step 5 you must confirm your details in order for consent to be registered. Step 6 will confirm your consent and you will receive a confirmation email. 

Please click on https://portal.cirv.vic.gov.au//PrivacyCollection/?id=8cb786c6-6fdb-ee11-904d-000d3ae1af1c&Year7 or if you prefer, copy and paste the link into your web browser and follow the instructions to advise us of your consent/non consent within 7 days of receiving this email. If you wish to make changes to your consent or withdraw it, please use the reference code provided in the confirmation email. If you have any queries, please contact your school or Whitehorse City Council Immunisation Team on 9262 6197.

WHOOPING COUGH

Whooping cough cases are continuing to increase across Victoria, particularly amongst school-aged children.

Whooping cough is a very contagious infection, mostly spread through coughing or sneezing. 

Symptoms include:

· Blocked or runny nose

· Tiredness

· Mild fever

· Severe bouts of coughing, often followed by a ‘whooping’ sound on breathing.

Whooping cough can lead to life threatening infections in babies.

If your child is unwell, they should not attend school. Please see a doctor if you or your child develops whooping cough symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment will help reduce the spread of the infection.

Students diagnosed with whooping cough must not attend school

To reduce the spread of infection and to protect others within the school community, students diagnosed with whooping cough are recommended not to attend school for 21 days after their cough was first present, or until they have taken a full course of antibiotics prescribed by a doctor (usually a 5-day course).

If your child is diagnosed with whooping cough, please contact the school to let us know.

I hope we can work together to protect the whole school community by following the recommended advice.

More information For more information about whooping cough, refer to Whooping cough (Pertussis) - Better Health Channel https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/whooping-cough

Vaccination is the best way to reduce the risk of whooping cough. The Department of Health recommends staying up to date with immunisations, including booster doses. A free booster dose of the pertussis vaccine is covered under the national immunisation program for students aged 12 to 13. If you are unsure about your child’s vaccination status for whooping cough, please discuss with an immunisation provider, such as your doctor.

I really appreciate your support in keeping our students safe and well.