NASCAR Champion Jeff Gordon Helps Raise Awareness of Pertussis (Whooping Cough)

NEW YORK, NY AUG. 5, 2010 – NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon (second from left), spokesperson for the Sounds of Pertussis Campaign (www.SoundsofPertussis.com) joins Dr. Alan Fleischman (right), senior vice president and medical director of the March of Dimes, and Felicia and Daryl Dube and their son Zachary (center), a family who earlier this year lost their infant son, Carter, to pertussis, also known as whooping cough, for Pertussis Awareness Day in Times Square. They are raising awareness about the risks of pertussis and the importance of adult vaccination against the disease.

NEW YORK, NY AUG. 5, 2010 – NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon can get up close and personal with Perri Tussis, a giant replica of a Bordetella pertussis bacterium, because he got his adult Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis) booster.  Gordon, who is the spokesperson for the Sounds of Pertussis Campaign, encouraged all adults in close contact with an infant also get their booster to help protect against pertussis, a highly contagious, but vaccine-preventable disease. Pertussis, or whooping cough, is often spread to vulnerable infants by the adults in their lives.  Visit SoundsofPertussis.com.