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Whooping Cough Making Comeback, Health Department Wants You To Get Booster

By Corinne Rose
September 6, 2012 Updated Sep 6, 2012 at 6:03 PM EDT

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Indiana's NewsCenter) -- Whooping cough is making a comeback, with 179 cases in Indiana and 13 deaths nationwide so far this year.

Infants six months and younger are the most vulnerable to the bacterial infection, because they need a series of three shots to ward off pertussis.

And with Sunday being Grandparents' Day, the Allen County Health Department wants older and younger adults to get a booster shot.

Candy Staadt is the supervisor for the Allen County Health Department's immunization clinic.

"You and I might get whooping cough and it would be like a cold. An infant gets a case of whooping cough and it could kill them. They get very, very ill, they cough, they can get pneumonia, they can get other side effects. So we want to protect our young ones, those that we care for," Staadt says.

If you have questions about walking in to get a booster shot or would like to schedule an appointment for Monday, call the Health Department's immunization clinic at 449-7514.



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