whooping cough in juneau

[newmum35]

I read an interesting article and wondered why it said "For those under age 7 there is a vaccine, and there is also a vaccine for those from 10 to 65, Funk said. Those between 7 and 10 cannot be vaccinated, she added."

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/...66253114.shtml

Does anyone know why those between 7 and 10 years old cannot be vaccinated? Just curious.

I also found the reader comments below the story even more interesting.

[tanyalynn]

I think the age gap just has to do with the ages of the kids used in the safety studies, since it's a different formulation for each of those age groups. I don't think it's anything very significant.

[Marnica]

I love how they insinuate that if they don't receive proper medical care they will all die...nothing like a little fearmongering!

[tanyalynn]

But to me, the really sad thing is that, as far as I can tell, most medical professionals don't know anything to do besides hope and wait to see if your kid gets sick enough to need a hospital. And so most parents don't think they have any choices. It's very fear-driven and there's lots of helplessness involved.

[Full Heart]

"Without appropriate treatment and support, they'll die, which is why this is such a serious illness," Neyhart said.

Really.

It is not clear how many cases Juneau has actually had because only those cases confirmed with lab tests are counted, Funk said.

Well I guess we will know when the dead bodies start piling up. Do they even realize what they are writing anymore?