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Starting middle school comes with a whole host of worries — going to a new school, picking electives, making friends — but coming down with whooping cough doesn’t need to be one of them.

For incoming 7th grade students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, proof of a TDaP booster shot is mandatory before school starts Aug. 12. L.A. Unified will host a number clinics, listed below, to help make sure students receive a booster shot free of charge.

The vaccine helps prevent tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.

Because pertussis is so contagious, students who do not have proof of vaccination will be barred from attending class in accordance with state law.

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