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whooping cough

Published: 11/17/10

Opinion: Let's Lift the Roadblocks to Vaccinations

By not in system - AOL News

(Nov. 17) -- With the flu season just getting under way, it's a good time to ask this question: In an age of readily available vaccines, why are so many Americans dying of preventable diseases? About 200,000 will be hospitalized and 36,000 will die of the flu between now and when the flu season ends in May. In California, pertussis -- more commonly known as whooping cough -- has re-emerged with a vengeance. This year, nearly 6,000 pertussis cases have erupted -- health officials call this the biggest whooping cough outbreak since 1950. Tragically, pertussis has killed 10 California infants ...

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Published: 07/7/10

The Anti-Vaccine Movement: Blinding Us With Pseudoscience

By Donna Trussell - Politics Daily

Despite the American infatuation with gambling, in other areas of life we shy away from random chance. We like cause and effect. We like the story of one thing leading to another in a nice, straight line. And if such a story does not declare itself, we'll invent one. Our need for a clear, predictable pattern leads us down the wayward path of conspiracy theories. In the absence of a cause that makes sense to us, we'll spend hours, days, years looking for one. Why? Peter Jennings alluded to a possible reason in his thorough 2003 documentary "Peter Jennings Reporting: The Kennedy Assassination ...

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Published: 06/24/10

California Declares a Whooping Cough Epidemic After 5 Infants Die

By Joseph Schuman - Politics Daily

California health authorities warned the state could face the worst whooping cough epidemic in 50 years and immediately urged residents to get vaccinated after five infants died from the disease. The California Department of Public Health said 910 cases of pertussis, the scientific name for whooping cough, had been recorded as of June 15 and that 600 more possible cases were being investigated by local health departments. At this point in 2009, only 219 cases had been recorded, and the current pace could lead to the most illnesses and deaths from the highly contagious disease in half a ...

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Published: 06/23/10

Officials Warn: Whooping Cough Now an Epidemic in California

By Katie Drummond - Politics Daily

Whooping cough has reached epidemic status in California, and officials warn that the state could see its highest number of cases in 50 years. The contagious ailment is now being linked to five deaths in the state, including two infants. What is it, exactly? Whooping cough, which causes months-long coughing in adults and can lead to fatalities in kids, is an upper respiratory infection transmitted via air or spit particles. Why now? Outbreaks typically occur in ebbs and flows, usually in five-year cycles. The last peak in California, in 2005, saw 3,182 diagnosed cases. Already this ...

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Published: 01/7/10

To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate: The Celebs Weigh In

By Ria Misra - Politics Daily

It may not be a spoonful of sugar, but would a celebrity endorsement make that vaccination shot a little easier to bear? With the rise in prominence of celebrity vaccine skeptics, vaccine makers are responding with their own celebrity endorsements. Bad Astronomy reports that the manufacturers of the pertussis (or whooping cough) vaccine are featuring Jennifer Lopez in a video encouraging parents to vaccinate themselves and their children against the malady, while USA Today notes that the flu shot is borrowing a move straight from Wheaties boxes, pulling in backing from Kristi Yamaguchi and ...

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