Anti-vaccination activist’s twin toddlers catch whooping cough

Anti-vaccination activist Lucy Cook has pleaded with me to share this post she made in the rabid antivax group, Anti-Vaccination Australia:

The post has since been deleted; but, I am nothing if not helpful. I am only too happy to assist you, Lucy, in alerting the community to the need for adult whooping cough boosters.

Whooping cough is a serious illness, and it can cause serious symptoms – even in adults – as described by the helpful Lucy. Even if you catch whooping cough this does not mean you have lifelong immunity. The disease can be caught over and over. This is why boosters are important.

I thank Lucy for her post, which goes to show how easily whooping cough can be transmitted by non-immune adults. Lucy also shows the importance of getting your boosters so as to protect babies in their first few months of life. Immediate family members are by far the largest source of whooping cough transmission in newborn babies.

See this article for mandatory reading on whooping cough, by Dr Rachel Heap and Jenni Bate:

Whooping Cough: Why are we having outbreaks?

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