Whooping cough epidemic still ongoing

Spokane’s whooping cough (pertussis) epidemic passed 100 cases this week, just as new numbers indicate that only 25 percent of the state’s local allocation of low-cost vaccine has been administered.

Over the past two months, Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) received almost 2,000 doses of state-donated whooping cough vaccine. The health district distributed the majority of the vaccine to several local providers and pharmacies to administer, yet uptake has been relatively slow. To their credit, between the three locations where it offers the low-cost vaccine, CHAS has administered approxi...