The number of cases of whooping cough in Washington are up sharply this year with 431 cases reported in the state — 53 more than this time last year.
Getting an exemption is still possible but under a new law will require a visit to a health provider.
State’s child vaccination rates are one of the lowest in the nation with one in twenty kindergarteners being opted out of vaccines by parents — the highest vaccine exemption rate in the country.
Whooping cough makes a comeback. Americans still aren’t eating their vegetables. Use of pills to treat diabetes up, insulin down.
Babies under two months are too young to get the pertussis vaccine, so it’s important for parents and others in close contact to “cocoon” babies by getting immunized.
Pertussis – or whooping cough – cases are on the rise in some areas of the country. Infants and children who haven’t been immunized can get seriously ill if infected.
In its “Parent’s Guide to Kids’ Vaccines” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration addresses many questions parents have about the vaccines that are recommended for their children and provides a list of these vaccines, their purpose and common side effects.
Each year 50,000 Americans die from a vaccine-preventable infections, and almost all of them—95%—are adults. Influenza, for example, causes an average of 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. every year, but less than half of the adults for whom the vaccine is recommended get the shot. Pneunococcal infections, when can cause lung, blood [...]
Washington state health officials are investigating an outbreak of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, among people who attended the state high school wrestling championships held last month in the Tacoma Dome. So far, at least 15 people, including wrestlers, coaches and spectators, who attended the match—The 2009 Mat Classic—have come down with the infection. [...]
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Seattle Times Health News
Experts divided over recommendation to screen children for cholesterol
Some clinicians say universal screening is an important tool to help identify children who are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol and to pinpoint others who could benefit from treatment. Others express concerns that screening may do more harm than good.
People in state high-risk insurance plans often feel left behind
The federal health law set up new plans that are cheaper and more comprehensive than the older ones run by states but consumers need to go without insurance for six months to qualify.
Peeking in on your doctor’s notes
Although federal law guarantees patients the right to examine and get copies of their medical records, providers haven’t always made it easy to do so. But the movement to give patients direct access to their health information has picked up steam, and policymakers have encouraged it as a way to empower patients to help manage their health and their medical care.
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