Sticky Situation

Hayley Thomas clenched her fists, bit her bottom lip and held her breath as she watched a nurse unwrap three syringes.

“Oh my God. Oh my God,” she said as she squirmed in her seat. “That doesn’t look good. I’m scared.”

Then she grabbed the corner of the table, and county public health nurse Michelle Bradshaw gave her three quick shots: hepatitis B; tetanus; and measles, mumps and rubella.

Hayley, 11, a student at Los Cerritos Middle School in Thousand Oaks, was one of about 250 sixth-graders at seven Ventura County schools who received immunizations for hepatitis B on Tuesday.

A new state law requires students to be immunized against the virulent blood-carried virus or they cannot enroll in seventh grade after July 1. So this week, the county Public Health Department sent teams of nurses to give free vaccinations to thousands of students throughout the county.

“We want to catch kids before any high-risk behavior, such as tattoos and body piercing,” said Lin Glusack, immunization coordinator for the county health department. “We want to protect them from the viral disease.”

Hepatitis B causes inflammation of the liver and increases the risk of liver cancer and cirrhosis. The disease infects an estimated 200,000 U.S. residents a year, hospitalizing 11,000. Between 5,000 and 6,000 people die each year as a result of hepatitis-related liver diseases. It is passed through body fluids, most commonly through sexual activity and intravenous drug use.

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Last year, students entering kindergarten had to be immunized for hepatitis before starting school. This year, the requirement was extended to students starting seventh grade. During the next few weeks, nurses will visit 88 schools in 18 districts to give the first of the three-injection series. They will return in March and June to complete the vaccinations.

County Schools Supt. Charles Weis said he supports the program and expects it to reach many of the county’s 12,000 sixth-graders.

“I’m very happy that the school districts are working to get kids immunized and that the public health department is helping to get the immunizations done,” Weis said. “We pride ourselves on being collaborative.”

At Los Cerritos on Tuesday morning, about 65 sixth-graders waited nervously outside the science lab, converted into a medical clinic for the day. One by one, the nurses brought them in to be immunized. Many students also received tetanus and measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations.

“These are recommended vaccines, and we believe that we should not miss any opportunity to immunize these children,” Glusack said.

As Ari Tallen, 11, waited for his shot, he tapped his fingers on the table--surrounded by syringes, bandages, gloves, cotton balls and lollipops.

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Minutes later, a nurse pressed a syringe into Ari’s arm. He barely flinched. On his way out, he comforted a nervous classmate.

“It’ll sting a little, but nothing unbearable,” Ari said. “I thought it was gonna hurt more, but it just stung a little.”

Nikki Breitong, 11, didn’t have as easy a time. Tears slid down her cheeks as she got her shots. Afterward, she rested her head on a desk.

“They hurt, but I know I have to get them so I won’t get diseases,” she said.

While students must be immunized before the new school year, they do not have to participate in the county’s clinic. To get the shots, students must submit permission slips signed by a parent or guardian. At Los Cerritos, 65 of the 209 sixth-graders returned slips.

Carmen Rosenberg, Conejo Valley school district nurse, said many students are afraid to get shots without their parents present and many parents prefer to go to their own health-care provider.

Despite county efforts, Rosenberg anticipates that hundreds of students still won’t be immunized by the time school starts.

“We gather that in September, we’re gonna have a mountain of paperwork,” Rosenberg said. “There’s still going to be kids that are out of compliance and have to be excluded.”

After Bradshaw finished vaccinating Hayley, she pressed bandages over the three tiny red dots.

“See? You’re tough,” she said.

Still shaking, Hayley stood up and waved her arms in the air.

“My arms are numb,” she said. “I won’t be able to write, which in some ways is good.”