California public health officials on Monday strongly urged elderly adults, children and pregnant women to get vaccinated against whooping cough, citing an epidemic in the state that is on track to be the worst in 50 years.
Nearly 1,500 cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, have been reported statewide this year, five times the number of cases last year, according to Dr. Gil Chavez, the state’s epidemiologist.
Newborns under 6 months old are the most vulnerable, since even those vaccinated have yet to develop immunity, Chavez said. Five infants have died of whooping cough so far this year, all under 3 months old. Two of the deaths were in Los Angeles County.
