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July 30, 2003
U.S. IMMUNIZATION
NEWS
Whooping Cough at
87 Cases
Charleston Post and
Courier (SC) (www.charleston.net)
(07/29/03) P. 1A; Martinez, Ray; Langley, Lynne
The total number of
confirmed or probable cases of whooping cough in South Carolina is now at 87,
according to South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
epidemiologist Robert Ball. Georgetown Pediatric Center Dr. Paul Hletko notes
that the outbreak is weak and has caused no hospitalizations; children diagnosed
with the illness spend five days at home before returning to school to prevent
further spread. Prevention measures include covering mouth and nose when
coughing and sneezing, avoiding people with symptoms, and finishing prescribed
antibiotics. People at greatest risk of acquiring the illness are children under
the age of six months, because they have not been fully vaccinated.
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is for general information purposes only and is not to be construed as
reflecting the knowledge or opinions of the publisher, and is not to be
construed or intended as providing medical or legal advice. The decision
whether or not to vaccinate is an important and complex issue and should
be made by you, and you alone, in consultation with your health care
provider.
"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
-- Albert Einstein, letter to a friend, 1901
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820
"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"
-- Sandy Gottstein
"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"