Jumping through Whoops 0
Deaths from whooping cough soar in Cali. I trust the anti-vaccine zealots find this gratifying:
Other factors include the cyclical nature of the disease and an increasing number of parents opting out of immunizations for their children.
Much more at the link.
I can remember seeing grainy black and white pictures of kids in iron lungs because of polio on the telly vision when I was young. Mumps nearly killed my parents when I was about four (mumps is much more serious in adults than in children). There were many family tales of children almost dying from whooping cough or measles and perhaps tales I did not hear of those who did; I do know that, in the graveyard at the little country church my family has attended since before the War of 1812, there are lots of tiny little graves.
Vaccines put an end to that. Now, fear and hysteria based on fraudulent claims threaten to bring it all back.
Penn and Teller explain vaccination (Warning: Language).
Penn and Teller via PoliticalProf.