Despite Vaccines, Whooping Cough Still A Concern

A school diseases expert at the State Health Department says a lot of school students will not be immune to whooping cough this year – even though they got their shots before starting kindergarten or first grade. The Departament’s Sue Denney says the pertussis vaccine is only about 85 percent effective to begin with and wears off by the time a student is ten or twelve years old. She says the answer is booster shots. There is the flu season and the peak time for getting flu shots is about a month away. She says vaccine supplies will be adequate this year after a couple of years of shortages.