As the whooping cough (pertussis) epidemic spreads through California, public health officials are attributing the current outbreak to the fact that the state is one of only 11 that do not require middle school students to receive booster shots against pertussis.
In 2008, only 43.7 percent of adolescents in California received Tdap, the vaccine for pertussis (as well as tetanus and diphtheria). The booster shot is equally important since immunity against pertussis can diminish within five years of illness or vaccination. Booster shots for whooping cough should be routinely recommended in middle school children since the illness is very disabling, advises ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross. Though rarely fatal, kids can be out of school for weeks with horrendous coughing episodes that leave them fatigued and unable to sleep.
Since whooping cough is completely preventable, Dr. Ross is disturbed by parents who knowingly put their children and other children as well at risk by avoiding vaccination.
