Whooping cough (Pertussis) and immunization

Pediatrician Lawrence Kagan, MD, shares advice for parents on why vaccines are so important for children in helping to build a child's immune system and can help them survive whooping cough
The Importance Of Whooping Couch (Pertussis) Immunizations
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Whooping cough (Pertussis) and immunization

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Whooping cough is a chronic cough. In adults and children, it's nothing more than that. It's a cough that lasts a long time and it goes through different phases and eventually resolves. The problem occurs when a young child, an infant, less than six months of age who is unvaccinated contracts pertussis. Pertussis, which i whooping cough, creates a cough that is so severe in young children that they have a problem oxygenating their blood. Unfortunately, in Southern California this last winter alone, we lost 14 children to the disease. The 14 that passed away were largely unvaccinated and under six months of age. Even children who had one vaccine, had probably enough partial immunity to survive the illness. This is an important example of why vaccines are important and do work.

Pediatrician Lawrence Kagan, MD, shares advice for parents on why vaccines are so important for children in helping to build a child's immune system and can help them survive whooping cough

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Lawrence Kagan, MD

Pediatrician

Lawrence Kagan, MD, FAAP, is a UCLA honors graduate, with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. He received medical training at USC Keck School of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. In addition to passionately studying neonatal, general pediatric and adolescent medicine at CHLA, he had the opportunity to train under some of the greatest minds in subspecialty pediatrics, diagnosing and managing the rarest and most complicated childhood ailments. Prior to opening Westside Pediatrics, he worked as an attending physician at the CHLA Emergency Department as well as at Cedars Sinai Urgent Care. Dr. Kagan is a native of Los Angeles and is happily married with two children.

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Transcription: 
Whooping cough is a chronic cough. In adults and children, it's nothing more than that. It's a cough that lasts a long time and it goes through different phases and eventually resolves. The problem occurs when a young child, an infant, less than six months of age who is unvaccinated contracts pertussis. Pertussis, which i whooping cough, creates a cough that is so severe in young children that they have a problem oxygenating their blood. Unfortunately, in Southern California this last winter alone, we lost 14 children to the disease. The 14 that passed away were largely unvaccinated and under six months of age. Even children who had one vaccine, had probably enough partial immunity to survive the illness. This is an important example of why vaccines are important and do work.