LOS ANGELES (AP) – A total of 9,935 cases of whooping cough cases were reported to the California Department of Public Health from Jan. 1 to Nov. 26, the highest number in 70 years.
State officials place much of the blame on a vaccine introduced in the 1990s that research has concluded doesn’t last as long as the old one.
Another study suggests that while the vaccine may keep people from getting sick, it does not prevent them from spreading whooping cough. The illness is also referred to as pertussis.
It is cyclical, peaking every three to five years as immunity from the vaccine or the disease wanes. California’s last epidemic was in 2010.
California Battles Whooping Cough Epidemic: http://t.co/DdvVsTtmjB
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) December 12, 2014
