When Should You Call the Pediatrician?

Newborns need vaccinations in those first months to protect against potentially dangerous diseases, including hepatitis B, polio, whooping cough (also known as pertussis), tetanus, diphtheria, Hib, pneumococcal and rotavirus.

Tdap vaccine requirement extended to sixth- through 12th-grade students

SPRINGFIELD | Beginning next fall, the state will require all sixth- through 12th-grade students to receive a Tdap booster shot, following a state increase in whooping cough cases.

Flu continues in Illinois; 50 deaths this season

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. | Illinois is among 30 states reporting high flu activity in a season in which the virus is striking earlier than usual and the main flu strain is one that tends to make people sicker.

CDC says US flu season starts early, could be bad

Health officials on Monday said suspected flu cases have jumped in five Southern states, and the primary strain circulating tends to make people sicker than other types.

What travelers need to know about the flu season this year

As flu season approaches, germs are spreading faster than holiday cheer. Traveling through a highly populated place, such as an airport, raises the risk of contracting the seasonal flu.

Get low-cost pet vaccines Oct. 27 in Lansing

LANSING | Spay Illinois is hosting a low-cost pet vaccine clinic from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 27 at Ted's Feed Store, 17950 Burnham Ave.

New law requires Ill. students to get vaccinated

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. | Students entering sixth and ninth grade this year must be vaccinated for whooping cough under a new Illinois law.

D.215 students will need vaccine on file

CALUMET CITY | All ninth-grade students at Thornton Fractional Township high schools will need a completed physical on file proving they have received the Tdap vaccination in order to begin classes in the fall.

Crown Point lawyer answers call to serve others in Ukraine

CROWN POINT | Connie Postelli knows she's going to Ukraine to teach English as a second language with the Peace Corps, and that she leaves Northwest Indiana on Sept. 19. Her research has told her the winters will be brutal, with temperatures 20 to 40 degrees below zero.

EDITORIAL: A shot in the arm for public health

The immunization rates are higher for Indiana teens because of school public health requirements, which is good news. Public health will be improved as a result.

Medical journal article shows effect of vaccines on diseases

21,000 had whooping cough last year, CDC says

Federal health officials say more than 21,000 people got whooping cough last year, many of them children and teens. That's the highest number since 2005 and among the worst years in more than 50 years.

Many Chicago students still not vaccinated, documents show

CHICAGO | Nearly one out of six students in Chicago Public Schools did not meet vaccine or physical examination requirements as of Oct. 14, according to documents obtained by Medill News Service.

EDITORIAL: A shot in the arm for health

In complaining about the state's immunization database, a parent in St. John Township inadvertently showed precisely why such a registry should exist.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Vaccinate everyone to keep Hoosier kids safe

What if your healthy, playful child, grandchild, niece or nephew suddenly died of a serious disease like pertussis (or whooping cough)? What if the death could have been prevented if those around him or her had been vaccinated? What would you do and how would you feel?