Shot Refusal Swells Whooping Cough Risk

Children who don’t get vaccinated are 23 times more likely to get whooping cough, a study has found. Researchers looked at medical records for 156 children who got whooping cough and 595 who did not. About 1 in 20 kids whose parents refused the vaccine got whooping cough. About 1 in 500 kids who had their shots got the disease. Whooping cough also is called pertussis. Some parents have safety concerns about the vaccine. But doctors say the current vaccine, developed in the 1990s, is very safe. Refusing the vaccine increases the number of whooping cough cases. This can endanger babies too young to get their shots, experts say. The study appeared in the journal Pediatrics. The New York Times News Service wrote about it May 26.