Whooping Cough Back With a Vengeance ~ A must read & video

[Earthnut]

ABC News ~

Whooping Cough Back With a Vengeance in California (and other states, including a death in Canada)

A must read and a video to watch, especially if you have a newborn, young children, or grandchildren under the age of one.

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/whooping-cough-back-vengeance-california/story?id=27444674

[Libby]

Back in 1976, when my first child was born, there was a whooping cough outbreak. We couldn't decide whether to have her vaccinated, because there were so many scare stories about the vaccine. The internet wasn't around then, of course, so the only info we had was either from the media, or word-of-mouth. The media, of course, was as bad then at reporting medical or science stuff as it is now. And most healthcare professionals didn't have much information either. When I asked my GP about the risks versus the benefits, all he said was that if I didn't have my daughter vaccinated, and she caught whooping cough, she could end up with life-long bad breath from lung damage! There were also rumours that the vaccine itself wasn't safe - much like the MMR vaccine in the UK in recent years.

But there is much more information available these days; and a lot more openness by Big Pharma and research labs and government - thanks to consumer groups lobbying for proof of safety and effectiveness. Vaccination provides the best barrier to a disease taking hold in a community. Not all vaccines work in all people; and some vaccines can be a challenge too far for some individual immune systems. Since vaccination is ultimately a public health matter, there should not only be free vaccines available, but also a financial safety-net in cases where there is the possibility of a long-lasting adverse reaction, even if that's not definitively provable - something that the UK government is reluctant to do.

Incidentally, I've heard that children in the US are not allowed to attend state schools unless they have had all the required vaccinations. I think that's something that the UK should adopt.

[Walkabout]

seems each part of the country has a huge outbreak every year. Two years ago , it was in the mid-west. I offered my nieces that I would get the adult shot if they wanted me to, they said no as it was everywhere anyway. Each family must decide for themselves.