Jeff Gordon and his wife, Ingrid, are taking on a campaign more important than a fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
They’ve agreed to be spokespersons for the March of Dimes’ Sounds of Pertusis awareness program. Expecting their second child, a boy, Gordon said that his work with the Jeff Gordon Foundation had made him aware of pertussis, better known as Whooping Cough, which can be fatal to children. “It’s shocking to us as parents,” that people think of the problem as one for children and not adults,” Jeff Gordon said at a press conference. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness that pertussis is highly contagious and preventable by vaccination. “Even though Ingrid and I have a 3-year-old daughter, we had no idea when Ella was born that we needed a pertussis booster, and that without it, we were putting her at risk,” said Gordon. “Now, with a new baby on the way, we’re not taking any chances — we’re getting vaccinated. I’ve already rolled up my sleeve, and Ingrid will get her immunization shortly after our son is born.” Doctor Siobhen Dolan said that vaccination of adults is the best preventative medicine for the disease which comes in two to five year cycles. Right now there is an epidemic in California which has recorded five fatalities this year versus three in the entire preceding year. Back at Hendrick Motorsports (which has 550 employees) in North Carolina Gordon said the teams’ crew members may be vaccinated. Consumers can help make a difference in the fight against pertussis by downloading a song from the Sounds Track 4 Change™. This is a playlist of Gordon’s favorite road tunes available at www.SoundsofPertussis.com. Five percent of the proceeds from every song purchased from the playlist will be donated to the March of Dimes for pertussis education.
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