I diagnosed two patients last week with pertussis, otherwise known as "whooping cough." No, I didn't go through a time machine, and I wasn’t doing a skit. Both patients had previously been in excellent health, and they were young—university students, in fact.
We've been experiencing a resurgence of pertussis on Vancouver Island, where I live and work, and it’s not a good thing. Unfortunately, it’s part of a trend we’ve been seeing recently: the reappearance of old-world diseases that we used to have under some measure of control.
Dylan Wilson, a 20-year-old young man who lived in London, Ontario, died of the flu on Jan 17, 2014. His devastated mother appeared at a press conference shortly afterward and, in an attempt to find meaning in such an unthinkable tragedy, made a plea for people to get their flu shot. Dian Wilson hopes her son’s death will save someone else’s life.
Judging from the overwhelming response to a question about flu shots on YMC’s Facebook page recently, I’d say this is a hot-button issue with moms. And pretty polarizing. I’m not entirely surprised; these days vaccines are, shall we say, a tad…controversial. So it can be incredibly confusing to know what to do. Your best bet? To make a decision that works for you and your family, based on solid information. Not dogma, not propaganda, and certainly not fear.
