Arkansas Health Department offers back-to-school vaccine clinics, whooping cough focus
Thu, July 30, 2026 at 6:17 PM
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The Arkansas Department of Health is offering immunization clinics to help students get the required vaccines before classes begin next month, and officials have their eye on one disease in particular this year after it surged in 2025. (Photo: File)
The Arkansas Department of Health is offering immunization clinics to help students get the required vaccines before classes begin next month, and officials have their eye on one disease in particular this year after it surged in 2025
Health officials tell Channel 7 News that whooping cough ravaged students statewide in 2025. This year, ADH is providing families with easier access to immunizations for vaccine-preventable diseases that often cause problems at the start of the semester
Sarah Labuda, the Medical Director of Immunization and Child Health Programs with the Arkansas Department of Health, stated that children are especially susceptible to illnesses
“Children–I’m a pediatrician, I love children–but one of the things they are really great at sharing is their germs.”
Every year, school-aged children are hit with a variety of illnesses, such as the common cold, the flu, or strep throat
But pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, has been the ADH’s primary focus
“The diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine, that one is really important. A lot of people may have had it, but they’re not up to date on their vaccine,” says Labuda
Over 500 cases of whooping cough were reported in Arkansas in 2025 across 50 counties. That was the highest level the state had seen since tracking the data in 15 years
Labuda describes what this disease is
“It’s just like the name describes, people get a really bad cough, and it could last for weeks, even months sometimes in people.”
The disease resulted in 1 death in Arkansas in 2025, and the CDC reported 16 deaths across the country, as well as 28,783 hospitalizations
41% of those hospitalizations were children 6 months or younger
“Who we’re really trying to protect are the little babies or people who don’t have strong immune systems, because babies will just stop breathing if they get whooping cough sometimes,” states Labuda
According to data from the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI), vaccine coverage among Arkansas kindergartners during the 2024-25 schoolyear was the lowest in nearly 10 years
Their data shows that 3.5% of kindergartners during the 2024-25 school year had non-medical vaccine exemptions
Labuda believes that families should seek out their healthcare provider for information about vaccines, and to address any concerns they may have
“In public health, we can say vaccines are safe, vaccines are effective, they prevent illness, they prevent hospitalizations, they prevent deaths, we know this…have that strong relationship with your primary health provider, they’re the best one to go to as a trusted
Through the Arkansas Department of Health, there are health units in every county in the state. These health units are staffed by local nurses, and they provide immunizations, immunization records, and even other healthcare services, such as prenatal care
For an interactive map that shows the locations of all health units in Arkansas, click here
