The deadline for the new California state law is today (Monday) in two of the Valley's biggest districts. And later this week - thousands of Fresno Unified students may not be allowed to go to school.
Time has run out for students in Visalia and Central Unified schools districts. Monday morning was the deadline for 7th through 12th graders to get vaccinated for whooping cough.
Central Unified had about 80 students who didn't turn in proof of their shot records. In Visalia that number was 465 which meant students were turned away from class.
While both districts continue to process their paperwork and get students entered into the system - Fresno Unified's Health Services Director Daine Torna says campuses are making a last minute push to get their kids vaccinated. "Right now we're just working hard."
Nurses are standing by at Hoover High and other Fresno Unified schools to make sure those who haven't had the vaccine, get it. But Torna says the majority of students have. Now it's just a matter of getting their shot records to enter into the database.
As of Friday, 68 percent of Fresno Unified's more than 73-thousand students have been vaccinated. The district's deadline is Wednesday. And school leaders are doing everything they can to get students in compliance with the new law.
Torna said, "We were at Roosevelt and Cooper on Saturday and two high schools today and we have several more clinics scheduled this week."
Torna says there are two exemptions to getting the vaccine. Parents must turn in a signed waiver if their child can't have the shot for medical reasons or if it's against their personal or religious beliefs.
