Whooping cough on the rise again
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (341809)
Rockingham, Australia
December 4, 2024 6:10pm CST
Hitting our news headlines today is the fact that whooping cough numbers are reaching epidemic proportions. I know there are arguments against vaccinations but when a disease is seen very rarely, if at all, it’s easy for new parents to be become a bit ambivalent about whether to have their child immunised or not.
In the case of whooping cough, there have been almost three times more cases in October compared to all of last year. In South Australia, the number is 13 times higher than in 2023. While it’s of particular concern in babies, it’s not uncommon in other age brackets. Immunisation is free for babies and pregnant women. There is also a schools-based vaccination program.
I remember seeing a headstone in our hometown cemetery, stating a young boy had died from whooping cough. He would have been the same age as my sister and the mother was a friend of my mother’s. Vaccination programs at the time must have been seen as a life-saver.
The photo is of a Nuytsia floribunda, common name Christmas tree.
23 people like this
20 responses
@wolfgirl569 (107932)
• Marion, Ohio
5 Dec
Its sad when people don't get kids vaccinated and then the kids get very sick.
6 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (107932)
• Marion, Ohio
8 Dec
@JudyEv Too many people listen to the crap that goes around on social media and don't check with the experts
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (341809)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Dec
@wolfgirl569 They don't trust the experts but are very quick to believe the most outlandish ideas.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (182000)
• United States
5 Dec
I feel sorry for the kids..whos parents who have that kind of attitude. Paranoid and stubborn people shouldn't be running the show.
3 people like this
@snowy22315 (182000)
• United States
8 Dec
@JudyEv If they got prosecuted for chid neglect, that would change their tunes!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (341809)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Dec
@snowy22315 It would be all out war with the anti-vaccers if they prosecuted. Freedom of choice and all that stuff. 
@rebelann (112962)
• El Paso, Texas
5 Dec
What a beautiful tree.
Yeah, I've read online that whooping cough is on the rise so I'm guessing is isn't just in Australia. I can't recall if I've ever known anyone to have it but my mom considered any cough we'd get as whooping cough but I'll be it wasn't
2 people like this
@JudyEv (341809)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Dec
Young people have never witnessed these terrible diseases and don't know the risks they're taking.
@noni1959 (10104)
• United States
5 Dec
It's scary to know many cases are coming back. Vaccinations for whooping cough is important and the more people begin to refuse those and other like MMR, tetanus, polio, etc., we will go backwards horribly. The Nuytsia floribunda is beautiful.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (341809)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Dec
I agree completely with what you're saying. These are terrible diseases and not to be taken lightly.
@RebeccasFarm (90294)
• Arvada, Colorado
7 Dec
And walking pnuemonia among other things here. The invaders bringing new diseases too Judy.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (341809)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Dec
I've never heard of walking pneumonia. Vince has had pneumonia three times but we've now been vaccinated against it.
@FourWalls (68918)
• United States
5 Dec
I don’t know what has turned people against vaccinations. I mean, we have four generations of people vaccinated against things who are alive and well and NOT programmed to do the government’s bidding (one of the conspiracy theories about the covid vaccine in America), so why all of the sudden are vaccines considered the mark of the antichrist? It really doesn’t make sense to me.
What’s scarier is that diseases that we had seemingly eradicated because of “everyone” being vaccinated are suddenly making nasty, deadly comebacks. (Meaning, the germs are “out there,” but everyone had been vaccinated against them…until now.)
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (68918)
• United States
8 Dec
@JudyEv — I have some vaccinations I will not take, but I have a “legitimate” reason. No flu shot because I’m allergic to eggs; and no shingles vaccine because I’ve never had chicken pox so it’s not necessary.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (341809)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Dec
@FourWalls I'm sure there are a lot of instances where innoculation should be avoided. But in general they are helpful in preventing the spread of disease.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (80659)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
5 Dec
That is not good at all, Lucky I never had this, I had all the others like mumps and measles,
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (16505)
• Raurkela, India
5 Dec
In India we too have vaccine for whooping cough. It's more common in cold places.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (341809)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Dec
@aninditasen That's interesting.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (16505)
• Raurkela, India
9 Dec
@JudyEv Yes, they should. Regular intake of basil leaves and honey can prevent this disease.
1 person likes this
@Kamuigan (228)
• Rainbow City, Alabama
5 Dec
I'm an avid supporter of vaccines. I even get the flue shot every year. I Have four kids and if a vaccine was available for anything, I'd have the doctor give it to them. There's no point in risking these diseases. Most of them are eradicated through the possibility of immunizations. We are lucky to have them.
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (100540)
• India
5 Dec
I agree with you that vaccinations are life savers....whatever are the arguments against vaccinations, when it comes to life, taking risks is permitted only to self, not to others, not even to own children. Since children and babies do not understand the implications, we have no right to take a decision against vaccination when it has proved to be beneficial in the past.
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16785)
• China
5 Dec
Now that the Immunisation is free for babies ,the new parents should get their children immunised ! The Nuytsia floribunda is a sort of hemiparasitic plant.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (341809)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Dec
Young parents forget how deadly some of these diseases can be.
@LindaOHio (181320)
• United States
5 Dec
There are several diseases that are making a comeback because parents won't vaccinate. It's a pity. Have a good day.
1 person likes this
@Beestring (14675)
• Hong Kong
5 Dec
Nice photo.
Kids should get vaccinated asap.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (341809)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Dec
I agree. Vaccinations are free here but who would you not want to proect your children?
