Pertussis: Yo-Yo Stats
Previous CDC articles: Stupid , Measles
Pertussis, popularly known as Whooping Cough, is an illness that ranges from mild to very dangerous. The levels of incidence seem to be a bit of a mystery. One department of the CDC claims that the vaccine is doing a great job of protecting us from death-dealing outbreaks of pertussis while another department of the same organization claims that pertussis is endemic in the United States. Follow me down the bureaucratic rabbit hole, as we try to discover the truth about The Cough!
From the CDC’s “What Would Happen If We Stopped Vaccinations? Pertussis”
Since the early 1980s, reported pertussis cases have been increasing, with peaks every 3-4 years; however, the number of reported cases remains much lower than levels seen in the pre-vaccine era.
Simple enough. The vaccine works. Right? Surely there would be more pertussis if we weren’t vaccinating all the babies. That is why we have to keep on vaccinating all the babies because this effective vaccine is the only thing that stands between us and disaster.
The CDC continues:
In the U.S., prior to pertussis immunization, between 150,000 and 260,000 cases of pertussis were reported each year, with up to 9,000 pertussis-related deaths.
That is utterly terrifying and a lot of deaths. But (are you surprised?) they don’t provide a date for this statistic. Could be anywhere from 1850 up to 1930 or so. I do wish the CDC believed in citations and references for us stupid parents! Couldn’t they at least tell us what year the vaccine was licensed so we could go look up the statistics for ourselves? Without references what we are being handed is scaremongering statistics that may or may not be relevant to current conditions. If the statistic of 9,000 deaths is from tenement dwellers in 1910 it isn’t exactly relevant to middle-class families in the 21st century, is it?
A bit more:
Pertussis cases occur throughout the world. If we stopped pertussis immunizations in the U.S., we would experience a massive resurgence of pertussis disease.
But wait a moment. They said that pertussis has been increasing in the U.S. since the early 1980s, despite vaccination. So we don’t have to wait for pertussis to come from anywhere else in the world. Whooping Cough is not an alien at the borders, it is a disagreeable cousin living down the block.
Are you beginning to have that “Twilight Zone” feeling? You haven’t seen anything yet! Here is the CDC in a press release pushing pertussis vaccination for adults:
Pertussis affects an estimated 600,000 adults every year, aged 20 to 64 years, and can result in weeks of coughing, cracked ribs from severe coughing spells, pneumonia, and other complications.
That is at least 3 times the peak number before vaccination? Of course the population has grown. And they are talking estimated and not reported. But this is not great evidence for the effectiveness of the vaccine, is it?
But it gets better. This is what the CDC tells doctors about why the new vaccine is needed:
Pertussis, an acute, infectious cough illness, remains endemic in the United States despite routine childhood pertussis vaccination for more than half a century and high coverage levels in children for more than a decade¹
Translation: vaccinating babies hasn’t worked.
Let’s sum up the two positions:
To Parents of Babies: Vaccinate your baby or pertussis will “come back”, and we’ll see 200,000 cases a year once again.
To the Press, Physicians and Teens: Whew! Aren’t you glad we figured out how to make a vaccine for older children and adults because we have over 600,000 cases a year, and pertussis has “remained endemic” no matter how many babies we vaccinated with a whopping 5 shot series of an extremely reactive vaccine.
Reassuring, isn’t it, to know that the Centers for Disease Control is in control of their numbers and never the twain shall meet.
Next time: Mumps, or maybe chickenpox…
(1) Preventing Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis Among Adolescents: Use of Tetanus Toxoid, Reduced Diphtheria Toxoid and Acellular Pertussis Vaccines
Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
Comments
3 Comments on Pertussis: Yo-Yo Stats
-
stone on
Fri, 15th Feb 2008 3:42 pm
-
john on
Sat, 23rd Feb 2008 1:26 am
-
The Annoyance of Pertussis « Absolutely Unherdof on
Fri, 15th Aug 2008 4:30 pm
The British Government have persistently ignored the warnings of Prof Gordon Stewart about the hazards and ineffectiveness of pertussis vaccination:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/archive/features/30630/what-killed-sally-clarks-child.thtml
but even their own Medical Research Council study in 2006 testified to its ineffectiveness:
the vaccine racket marches on with the CDC as its main cheerleader. The CDC is just a bunch of white collar criminals, similar to the AAP as Dr Ayoub points out.
[2008] Dr Ayoub Speech at rally: “The AAP leadership knows very well that vaccines cause autism. We need not waste anymore efforts in trying to educating them, we need to indict them. They may be morally bankrupt, but they are not stupid. They have lied to legislators, they have lied to journalists, they have lied to Pediatricians, and worst of all, they have lied to you and your children…..One thing is abundantly clear, the don’t give a damn about scientific truth and they don’t give a damn about you or your children. I hope the autism community continues to move forward and expose all those involved who have put millions of children in harm’s way. ”
“The CDC would be the last place in the world to go for information regarding health. The CDC is a government bureacracy funded by theft (taxation that has reached confiscatory levels) and run by white collar criminals who regularly misinform and misdirect the public while creating pandemonium in the marketplace (unnecessary destruction of livestock, recalls etc) and conspiring to incite public panic on an almost daily basis, in violation of the constitution of the United States.”–Dr Duffy DC
[...] – the very young, and the very old (like most communicable disease). Here is an excellent overview of the muddy statistics surrounding this vaccine (their pages contain invaluable information for any parent sifting [...]
Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
You must be logged in to post a comment.