“My suspicion, which is shared by others in my profession, is that the nearly 10,000 SIDS deaths that occur in the United States each year are related to one or more of the vaccines that are routinely given children. The pertussis vaccine is the most likely villain, but it could also be one or more of the others.”
—Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D.
Infants during their first six months of life are at the most risk for pertussis and complications from infection.278 The most common complication is pneumonia which is reported in only 11.8 percent of cases.279 The case-fatality rate for pertussis in infants during the first six months is 0.2 percent.280 Over six months of age, the risk of death is rare.281
Pertussis cases in the United States are starting to increase.282 From 1980 to 1990 the annual incidence was one case per 100,000. From 1997 to 2000 the annual incidence rose to 55.5 cases per 100,000.283 This means, on a population basis a child has a 0.055 percent chance of contracting the illness, and a 0.00011 percent chance of dying from pertussis. Or in other words, on a population basis a child has a 99.945 percent chance of not contracting the illness, and a 99.99989 percent chance of not dying from pertussis.
During a thirty year time span from 1973 to 2003 there were 217 deaths caused by pertussis, averaging about seven deaths a year.284 The National Lightning Safety Institute (NLSI) reported 756 deaths in the United States during a thirteen year time span (1990-2003) caused by lightning, averaging about 58 deaths a year.285 If one were to compare deaths from lightning to deaths from pertussis, you would find that your child is eight times (828 percent) more likely to die from a lightning strike than they are from pertussis! What’s next, a vaccine for lightning?
The first whole-cell pertussis vaccine was developed in the 1930’s and in use by the 1940’s.286 Even after four doses of the vaccine it was worthless because after five years it offered little or no immunity.287 The vaccine was known to cause “collapse or shock-like state (SIDS),” acute encephalopathy (SIDS) and permanent brain damage.288 It only took the CDC fifty years (1996) to change to the acellular vaccine. The CDC stated, “Concerns about safety led to the development of more purified (acellular) pertussis vaccines that are associated with a lower frequency of adverse reactions.”289
