The General Assembly finds as follows:
(1) Commonly known as whooping cough, pertussis is a highly contagious disease that can be prevented by vaccination.(2) During 2012, the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) reported an increase in pertussis in the majority of states.(3) Pennsylvania ranked 13th in the country in the incidence of reported cases of pertussis.(4) Pennsylvania's incidence of pertussis is higher than the national incidence of cases of pertussis.(5) Recommended vaccination for children is at 2, 4 and 6 months of age, followed by vaccination at 15 to 18 months of age, followed by vaccination when the child enters school with the final vaccination when the child is between 11 and 12 years of age.(6) Pertussis can cause very serious illness which can be potentially life threatening in infants too young to be vaccinated.(7) More than half of infants who contract pertussis must be hospitalized.(8) Of those infants who are hospitalized with pertussis, about 1 in 5 will get pneumonia and 1 in 100 will die.(9) The CDC Recommends that families and caregivers of newborns be vaccinated at least two weeks prior to coming into close contact with a newborn.Added by P.L. TBD 2014 No. 163, § 3, eff. 12/21/2014.