An increased number of pertussis cases in Pennsylvania, including an outbreak in a western Pennsylvania school district where at least 16 students were affected, has prompted the Pennsylvania Health Department to release a reminder to parents about the importance of immunizing their infants and children.
In recent years, some parents have been reluctant to vaccinate their children because of speculation that the current vaccination schedule used in the U.S. is linked to an increased risk of developing Autism. Most pediatricians, however, are quick to argue that there is no finite evidence that supports this claim and continue to recommend vaccinating young children.
While many think of diseases like whooping cough as obsolete, their infrequency is a result of vaccines. With less children being regularly vaccinated, cases of once-rare diseases are becoming more prevalent. In recent weeks there have been other whooping cough outbreaks in parts of Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Kentucky.
Comments
And why will most pediatricians argue for the safety of vaccines? Simple:
1) Their professional journal, Pediatrics, is funded 80% by pharmaceutical advertising, so you'll never see a mention of the hundreds of studies that prove vaccines and vaccine ingredients cause harm.
2) Thanks to a change in law in 1986, pediatricians as well as vaccine manufacturers are virtually shielded from lawsuits! Why should they advise conservatively? There's no financial incentive. They're greater financial incentive to vaccinate as much as possible with the CDC's dangerous one-size-fits-all protocol. If your baby develops seizures or autism or, God forbid, dies after a round of vaccines, pediatricians are pretty much untouchable.
These are things parents learn after it's too late.
How many of the kids that have whooping cough actually got their shot? I bet most of them.
Obviously, you intended to exaggerate the severity of the disease by writing the "disease is not commonly fatal"...or...you would have simply written the "disease is rarely fatal".
George Orwell would have been proud of you.
how many of those people who contracted pertussis were vaccinated? There are new strains of pertussis that are not covered in the vaccine. This is a relatively begnin illness,- we should be looking more closely at our vaccination schedule and responsible parents should consider spreading it out a bit and being more hygenic at home to prevent illness.
It would serve you well as a journalist to do better research. In the recent outbreak in North Carolina (Nov 2008), all 16 cases were with children who WERE 100% vaccinated.
This statement is completely false:
"The disease is preventable when a child is properly vaccinated."
I am a 30 yr old adult who has been vaccinated all my life, and just found out I have pertussis. Just because you are vaccinated does not mean you will not get it, just means there is less chance, or a less severe case. I am on z-pack and a steroid inhaler. Though I am a parent for vaccines because I have not seen enough proof of side effects, and my children are not effected by them.
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