Vermont health officials are declaring an epidemic for whooping cough and urging adults to get a new vaccine for the disease.

More than 500 people have come down with whooping cough, also called pertussis, so far this year — more than 10 times the amount reported by the end of last year, reports CBS News.

More than 20 babies less than one year old have also had the disease. Six infants have been hospitalized in relation to it. The Health Department continues to urge residents to get a Tdap vaccine, which protects them from tetanus, diptheria, and pertussis.

The recommendation is for adults to help prevent the spread of disease for those who are too young to get a vaccine. State health commissioner Dr. Henry Chen stated:

“Vermont has not had an infant death from whooping cough in more than 20 years and we all must do everything we can to keep it that way. We are urging everyone over the age of 11 to take advantage of our vaccine clinics.”

USA Today notes that about 90 percent of children in Vermont have been vaccinated against whooping cough, but only about 10 percent of adults were vaccinated.

Free clinics are available to administer the whooping cough vaccine to adults. The CDC’s website states, “Our current estimate is that Tdap vaccination protects 7 of 10 people who receive it.” Along with immunization, it is also recommended to wash hands regularly, cough or sneeze into sleeves, and keep children away from second-hand smoke, which can make it more difficult to eradicate the bacteria once it enters the respiratory passages.

[Image from ShutterStock]

Vermont Declares Whooping Cough Epidemic is a post from: The Inquisitr

The CDC would like you to know that in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse, their plan is not just to let everyone die off until their headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia is decimated in a scheduled self-destruction while a ragtag group of survivors flees screaming, barely outpacing the blast- as some pop-culture predictions might have you believe.

No, the agency that often takes a supporting role in Zombie Apocalypse literature and film has used the compelling trope to disseminate some basic facts about disaster preparedness. However, I would be remiss in my duty if I did not point out that the talking points, while perfectly salient in run of the mill disasters, actually lack in zombie-related applications.

For instance, the CDC urges families to designate two meeting points in case of emergency- one near home, such as the mailbox, and one a distance away, in case your home or neighborhood is compromised. All well and good in the event of an earthquake, but meeting on the stoop will do you no favors if your mom or wife is trying to make pate out of your brains. Having a list of first responders would be excellent in the case of a tornado or flood, but we all know that when Ataxic Neurodegenerative Satiety Deficiency Syndrome strikes, the cops and hospitals are among the first to join the ranks of the infected and should be vociferously avoided. “What’s that on your arm, Officer?” “Oh, a perp bit me earlier…”

The CDC assures the public that when Z-Day hits, they’ll dispatch teams to areas where outbreaks occur, but their list of Zombie Apocalypse essentials- water, food, medications, tools and first aid kits- is notably lacking. In the interim, concerned citizens can at least take training classes to comply with the “Cardio” rule.

CDC discloses zombie readiness plan is a post from: The Inquisitr

Incoming Republican congressman Andy Harris showed a predictable lack of understanding of the very legislation he ran on a platform against, complaining at a Congressional orientation session about health insurance coverage gaps.

Annoyingly, Harris was outraged that he was expected to wait a much shorter than standard 28 days before his employer provided health insurance kicked in. (Show of hands, who here has ever gotten health coverage in less than 90 days, when you’re lucky enough to get it at all?) Without a hint of irony, the “anti-Obamacare” Harris whined that there should be some kind of government provision so people could opt-in to this sort of thing:

“He stood up and asked the two ladies who were answering questions why it had to take so long, what he would do without 28 days of health care,” said a congressional staffer who saw the exchange. The benefits session, held behind closed doors, drew about 250 freshman members, staffers and family members to the Capitol Visitors Center auditorium late Monday morning,”.

“Harris then asked if he could purchase insurance from the government to cover the gap,” added the aide, who was struck by the similarity to Harris’s request and the public option he denounced as a gateway to socialized medicine.

Showing a bit of ignorance regarding the realities of health insurance coverage for the average American, Harris petulantly decried the plan as the only one he’s seen that doesn’t provide coverage from the first day of employment. Currently, nearly 60 million Americans lack health insurance in any form.

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Incoming anti-healthcare reform GOP congressman incensed at 28 day health insurance delay is a post from: The Inquisitr

While Americans debated on and on over whether a form of watered down universal health coverage was the way forward or a plot to secretly indoctrinate American children as communist Muslims, the number of Americans who lacked health insurance for at least part of 2010 rose by 4 million people in a single year, according to numbers provided by the CDC.

And although healthcare reform opponents march behind a banner of self-determination, bootstraps and every man for himself-ishness, statistics revealed that many that have fallen through the cracks because of rising healthcare costs are middle-income Americans. CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden spoke to the idea that only people who don’t work enough are shut out routine health care:

“The first myth is that it’s only the poor who are uninsured,” Friden said. “In fact, half of the uninsured are over the poverty level and one in three adults under 65 in the middle income range–defined arbitrarily here between $44,000 and $65,000 a year for a family of four–were uninsured at some point in the year.”

A bright spot in the troubling statistics reflected that while the number of adults who lacked insurance rose nearly 6%, the number of children in the same boat dropped 5%. According to the study, a whopping 22% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 lack health insurance of any kind, public or private.

CDC: Nearly 60m Americans lack health coverage is a post from: The Inquisitr