Friday, July 20, 2012

U.S. Heading for Record Whooping Cough Epidemic

There have already been 18,000 cases of whooping in the U.S. this year, more than double the number seen at this point last year. Nine children have already died. At this rate, 2012 will become the worst year for whooping cough since 1959, when near 40,000 cases were reported.

Prior to the era of mass vaccination for Pertussis (whooping cough), the U.S. saw nearly 150,000 cases per year, with as many as 8,000 deaths. However, for the past decade a mass hysteria about vaccines (see here, here and here) has prompted thousands of parents to forgo Pertussis and other vaccinations for their children, causing a sharp rise in infections and preventable deaths. Ironically, a large percentage of these parents come from well-educated, affluent backgrounds.

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