No free immunizations during pertussis outbreak in county

Public duty is not why you get your kids vaccinated, you vaccinate your children because it is a parental responsibility. Public duty is where you (as a health care professional) encourage and teach, other young parents the importance of vaccinating their children, before their is an epidemic.

Haven't read all these responses, but my 45 year old brother was just diagnosed with pertussis. I had sent him to a doctor 2 months ago because he stated he was almost passing out with the cough, and couldn't inhale while coughing - his airway spasmed shut. Then i heard the whoop. Never heard a cough like that. Not everyone whoops either. (the doc back then said sinus infection but gave no antibiotics so he passed it on to us and hopefully not to my 2 month old nephew who cannot begin his pertussis series till 6 months old) You can hear the sound of the cough at http://www.pertussis.com/hear.html

MOST KIDS WHO GET THIS GET IT FROM ADULTS WHO THINK THEY HAVE A COLD AT FIRST BECAUSE THE COUGH DOESN"T START TILL 2 WEEKS AFTER THEY GET IT. THEY DON"T GET IT USUALLY FROM OTHER KIDS> INFANTS cannot be fully vaxd till 18 months and immunity from the childhood series wears off around age 15 THAT is why adults are getting it. The series does not impart lifelong immunity. THERE IS NOW SINCE 2005 A BOOSTER FOR 15 years on up. I got the TDaP today. Even though my 78 year old mom and I have already gotten this from my brother back in October. We had then got diagnosed with bronchitis (which you can have at the same time as pertussis) and given a ZPAK-which can work on pertussis. He didn't get any antibiotic but when I found out he was finally diagnosed I got my TDaP today. TDaP is a good thing to educate yourself on. Jennifer Lopez is a perussis spokesperson. Please educate yourself for a child.

BTW the cough is brutal and can be petrifying. You literally cannot get air into your lungs. It is the scariest thing in the world. That is why it is so dangerous for infants. Sometimes they get a paroxysm and it spasms shut and they just don't start breathing again. It is insidious and scary.

Looking at state maps from NAPNAP-National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners: http://www.pertussis.com/locate.html
You can easily see how Pertussis has increased since 2001.