Skipping Immunizations

Since we talked about kids having coughing spells this week, I thought I should probably post this story too. Kids who skip vaccinations are more likely to get whooping cough. I haven't met very many people who skip out on immunizations all together. Most of the parents with concerns just wait a little longer to get them and don't get them all at one time.

I would like to know what you think about the possibility of a swine flu vaccine by next fall. I am not saying it won't be safe, but I am concerned about getting a vaccine made and mass produced in such a short period of time. How could it be accurately tested that fast? I am no scientist, but I wondered if any other parents are concerned about this.

Here's the story about whooping cough (which I do remember reporting on in Illinois in the last few years):

Children whose parents choose not to give them immunizations have a greater risk of developing whooping cough. Although most children get the recommended vaccinations, pediatricians say it appears the number of parents opting out of immunizations is rising.

A new Kaiser Permanente study looked at the whooping cough vaccine -- and found unvaccinated children are 23 times more likely to develop the highly contagious bacterial disease. It causes uncontrollable and violent coughing spells and can be deadly in infants. The study did not look at side effects of the shots, or why parents declined the vaccine.

But researchers say they hope their findings disprove the theory that herd immunity -- protection because a large portion of the population has been vaccinated -- doesn't necessarily protect children from whooping cough.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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