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Corpus Christi Caller-Times (www.caller-times.com)
(10/11/02) P. B4; Fernandez, Sara Lee
With two confirmed cases of pertussis, also
known as whooping cough, and two suspected cases in Nueces County, Texas, the
county planned to hold a whooping cough vaccination clinic on Saturday,
according to Corpus Christi-Nueces County Health Department interim director
Ardys Boostrom. Last year, 1,615 cases of the illness were reported throughout
Texas, and 789 cases have been reported this year so far, according to Boostrom.
Texas currently ranks 42nd out of 50 states in terms of the number of children
who are completely immunized, says Jaime Fergie of the Corpus Christi-Nueces
County Health Department. The disease is preventable with a vaccine, and
Boostrom and Fergie are working to convince parents of the importance of
vaccines for the child's health, not just to meet school requirements.
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MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE 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?"