The deaths in California so far are for children under the age of 6.

You may wish to change this to reflect that it has been 6 infants, at least 5 of who were under the age of 3 months that have died of pertussis. I could never understand the recommendation to begin vaccination at 2 years old for diseases that pose such a threat to infants. Completely irresponsible.

We know that protection wanes over time and boosters need to be given. We also know that 1)vaccination is NO GUARANTEE that people won’t get pertussis and 2)those who were vaccinated tend to have less severe cases and 3)even getting the disease does not confer lifetime immunity.

You also didn’t add these parts, from the Hunterdon NJ Health Dept press release:

Symptoms usually include a long series of coughing fits that may well be followed by whooping noises, vomiting, turning blue, or difficulty catching one’s breath. Older children, adults, and very young infants may not exhibit the characteristic whoop sound. Coughing often intensifies at night, and cough medicines usually do not provide adequate relief. Symptoms and complications of pertussis generally are less apparent among older children and adults.

Serious complications including pneumonia can result among all age groups due to pertussis infection. Although deaths related to pertussis are rare, they do occur, especially among young infants who have not yet started or completed the pertussis vaccinations. While up to approximately 30 percent of persons with pertussis require hospitalization, about 70 percent of these are infants under six months of age…

Persons diagnosed with pertussis must take the full course of antibiotics prescribed by their physician and remain isolated until they have completed five days of treatment in order to limit potential spread of the disease.

Maybe you have time to stay home from work for 5 days with your child. Maybe you have a nanny, or family, or whatever. There are many people who can’t afford 5 days of isolation nor the full course of antibiotics or hospital bills. For those people, the vaccine is MUCH cheaper.

It’s 60-90% effective, depending on the study, which is closer to 100 than 0. A recent study during an outbreak in Colorado showed that children were 23 times more likely to contract pertussis if they were unvaccinated.

However, because it is not 100% effective, in a well-vaccinated population, you would expect there to be some children who come down with pertussis when they are vaccinated.

Don’t worry about correcting your own misinformation. I’m happy to do it for you.