The provincial government is expanding its whooping cough vaccination booster program to include students in grade 8, but on the north coast of Labrador, that program has been expanded even further.
Students are typically given a whooping cough vaccine booster in grade 9, but with 230 confirmed cases of the highly-contagious illness in the province so far this year, health officials are taking a more aggressive approach to controlling its spread.
In Nunatsiavut, the booster program has been expanded by the regional medical officer of health to include students in grades, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, can affect people of all ages but poses the greatest risk to infants.