Vaccine refusal boosts kids’ whooping cough risks

CHICAGO (AP) - A new study suggests children not vaccinated for whooping cough are much more likely to get the disease than kids who are protected.
    The Colorado study comes at a time when whooping cough cases have been on the rise and in care cases, the bacterial infection can be deadly.
    Government data show that in 2007, 10,454 cases were reported nationwide, including 10 children who died.
    Authorities recommend a series of five shots, including three by age 6 months. A booster shot is recommended for older children and teens to guard against the vaccine wearing off.
    The study involved 751 children enrolled in a Kaiser Permanente of Colorado health plan between 1996 and 2007, including 156 who got whooping cough.
    Non-vaccinated kids were 23 times more likely to get whooping cough.
    Results appear in the June edition of Pediatrics.