As Whooping Cough Spreads, Schumer Demands Free Vaccinations

By John Surico Sun., Jul. 22 2012 at 1:48 PM

Categories: Make It Stop, Charles Schumer, John Surico

WebMD describes whooping cough as a "disease that causes very severe coughing that may last for months." It is a respiratory infection that can spread rapidly if untreated. And, in recent weeks, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that cases have been popping up across the country of people coming down with the horrible sickness.

In the past year, 18,000 people have reported the disease - a number that is double that of last year's numbers. It is on track to be the highest report rate since 1959, when 40,000 cases of whooping cough were reported.

New York, unfortunately, has been a hotbed for the infection; cases have tripled in recent weeks in the Empire State, rising to about 1,800, as state health officials hurry to prevent the disease from spreading. In the City alone, about 187 cases of whooping cough have been reported.

With that being said, Senator Chuck Schumer is taking his case to the federal government in a plea to urge Washington to provide free vaccinations across the country for anyone over the age of 18 who has yet to receive the medicine.

Whooping cough is much scarier than the deficit.

In his speech to the Hill, he laid out a three-part plan that would provide clinics, doctors; offices and hospitals with access to the vaccination. Schumer pointed out how contagious the disease actually is and the harm it can inflict on children. Here's the video of the speech that NY1 has provided. In it, Schumer speaks on the solution:

"I am urging the Center for Disease Control to put in place a three-part plan that makes free vaccines more readily available at hospitals, doctor's offices and community health clinics, that targets adults that haven't been vaccinated in years and ensures that we have ample supply of the vaccine and a distribution plan in place."

With those skyrocketing numbers, vaccinations sound great, especially if they're free (because, as the logic goes, free is always better). So, you tell 'em, Chuck.

[jsurico15@gmail.com/@JSuricz]