Right before the U.S. entered WWII, a group of people got together and formed what is now known as the March of Dimes. They wanted to find a way to prevent polio. FDR was one of the backers. He had personal experience…he was a victim of the disease.
At that time, money was tight for everyone, but mothers took to the streets, gathering dimes to fight polio. That fight brought about a vaccine that can prevent our children from catching this deadly disease.
Why am I mentioning this, you may be wondering. Isn’t this article about whooping cough? Yes, it is. Whooping cough is deadly to infants and very hard on anyone who catches it. It’s also preventable by an immunization. The problem is, not enough parents are aware that it’s back. Sometimes awareness comes at a terrible price.
In 2010, over 9000 cases of whooping cough were reported in California, with nine deaths. This information comes from the California Department of Public Health. In 2011 there were nearly 3000. A strong push to get children and adults vaccinated occurred as the number of deaths rose the previous year. California children cannot go to school unless they have had the immunization, which may be why cases dropped by two thirds.
It’s reached the time for us to do what our parents and grandparents did. However, we don’t have to fight to find a cure. We don’t have to hope for a vaccine. What we have to do is get the word out that this vaccination is available and necessary.
None of these cases have to happen. No child needs to go through the pain and fear whooping cough causes. No parent should have to bury their infant because those around the child weren’t immunized.
According to an article in Paediatrics and Child’s Health the whooping cough vaccine lasts about ten years. It’s not a life long immunity. Neither is catching it. Whooping cough is caused by a bacterium, not a virus.
While there are facts in this article, this is an editorial. Please, parents. Get your children up to date on their immunizations and do so yourselves. You don’t know who might die because you didn’t follow up on this important medical issue.