The Lion's Pride Volume 10 (Spring 2018) | Page 51

application. The clinical portion of the program is conducted onsite at a
skilled nursing healthcare facility. Students, along with any worker, are
covered under the healthcare workers vaccination protocol as mandated
by the United States of America’s Department of Health Services.
Through the process of reviewing and collecting the immunization
records I noticed a tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (TDaP) vaccine as a
requirement. I was not worried about the extra effort in providing a
physician note for the aforementioned warning about the tetanus
vaccine. However, I wouldn’t be immune to the D and the P. Was
diphtheria still an active disease? I knew pertussis was active because of
the recent outbreak in the state of Washington. I did not think it was a
big deal. As it turns out, it is a really big deal, and to work in any
healthcare facility they would require a definitive answer on my tetanus
status if I wanted to ever provide direct patient care without wearing a
procedure mask. Regardless of the absence of symptoms, I could be a
carrier of pertussis which is a highly contagious infection of the
respiratory tract, otherwise known as whooping cough. The Department
of Health’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) has carefully researched
vaccinations and deemed that the pertussis antigens are activated by the
tetanus antigens and together boost the body’s immune system against
both diseases. Because one cannot have one antigen with lasting effects
without the other, the pertussis became my priority. A combination
benefit with the prick of one needle.