Dr. LaMar Habrouck, Illinois State Health Director, has taken to getting his message about vaccination safety by using the media to educate parents on the American Academy of Pediatric’s vaccination schedule.
Habrouck spoke to WBBM Radio on Friday, saying that the rise in whooping cough (pertussis) cases in Illinois is largely due to misconceptions and myths about vaccinations.
In 2012, there were an estimated 2,000 cases of whooping cough in Illinois.
Habrouck laments the rise in what he calls a very “preventable disease.”
Habrouck said, “We would contribute it to, not enough folks getting their boasters and sticking with their vaccination schedules.”
Habrouck also claimed that there are parents who are purposefully not getting their children vaccinated and that could lead to dangerous consequences.
“There are still some myths out there that vaccines can actually give you infections, or you know, can cause other health related conditions, so we have to be vigilant about getting those messages out and sharing the science,” said Habrouck.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the disease puts infants at the most risk, with half of all infants coming down with whooping cough requiring hospitalization. Of the the half of infant related whooping cough cases, a third will experience slowed or stopped breathing and 1 or 2 infants out of 100 will die from it.