Honestly, there is so much information about the pertussis and the pertussis vaccine dating back to the 1920s, an entire book could be written solely on this illness and its vaccine. Even though this module has been divided into two parts, it is only a brief overview of pertussis and pertussis vaccinations. As with all courses at Learning4you, you are encouraged to use this information as a jumping off point for further study and review. [2 Videos, Length: Vid 1: 24 min, Vid 2: 33 min, Downloadable Material, Access to Forums]
In this course you will learn:
- Why young parents should not be terrorized by a pertussis infection.
- Why the incidence of pertussis may be increasing – or decreasing – depending on which statistics you read.
- That pertussis is not nearly as “deadly” as reported.
- How pertussis vaccines have failed to prevent the infection from the earliest days to the present.
- Why there is no evidence that vaccination played a major role in the decline of pertussis mortality.
- How the pertussis vaccination studies conducted through the 1980s-90s could not be compared to come to an adequate conclusion about efficacy.
- That the side effects of pertussis vaccines are similar to the side effects of severe forms of pertussis infection.
- The side effects from whole cell and acellular pertussis vaccines are similar, and often the same.
- How vaccination “precautions” are not the same as vaccination “contraindications.”
