Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is highly contagious and has proven fatal in infants. The Sounds of Pertussis campaign's newest support is its National Campaign Ambassador, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar. Gellar spoke with TheCelebrityCafe.com about this campaign and the disease behind it. Dr Sioban Dolan – M.D., M.P.H., obstetrician gynecologist, clinical geneticist, and medical advisor to the March of Dimes, was also on hand to raise awareness about this epidemic. Gellar also spoke about motherhood (she's a mother of two now), and her new show with Robin Williams, The Crazy Ones.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: Congratulations on the The Crazy Ones!
Sarah Michelle Gellar: Thank you so much, I'm incredibly excited.
TCC: I did want to spend some time talking about Sounds of Pertussis. I read that you not only got vaccinated, but also asked your friends and family to do the same. Why was it so important to you to make sure this happened?
SMG: As any new mom will tell you, the most important thing is protecting your child, keeping your child safe, and keeping your child healthy. And the only way to keep a child healthy from Pertussis is to make sure that not just they are vaccinated, but that everyone around them is vaccinated. When I started to research vaccines and when to give them to my child, one of the things that doesn't come up as much is the diseases that we can potentially spread to them. Their immunity is so incredibly weak and underdeveloped that it's our responsibility and in a lot of the cases, in fact, in the cases of Pertussis where they were able to trace back where the infant or newborn came down with it, 80% of the time it was from an immediate family member or immediate caregiver and 50% of that time, it was from the parents themselves. We're talking about a disease that's potentially fatal in infants.
TCC: You are the National Campaign Ambassador for Sounds of Pertussis. How did you become involved in the Sounds of Pertussis campaign? And what do you do specifically as campaign ambassador?
SMG: Well, I was contacted about this wonderful partnership between March of Dimes and Sanofi Pasteur and the Sounds of Pertussis campaign and what we're trying to do is get people to understand that it's not just about vaccinating the children, but it's about vaccinating the adults. I've been incredibly fortunate in my life and I have these wonderful opportunities and if there's anything, if I can save one child's life, ten children's lives, anything, then it's my honor and my obligation to do so, and that's why I'm here today to talk to you about getting the adult Tdap booster.
TCC: It was alarming reading that Pertussis is now being characterized as an epidemic (with 18 deaths reported in 2012), but is hardly talked about among parents and much is not known about this disease. What do you feel is the best way to raise awareness about this pressing issue?
Dr Sioban Dolan: We're delighted to speak with you today, and we are trying to spread the word in any and every avenue that we can. We have a website, SoundsofPertussis.com, where folks can come and get information about Pertussis, and about maternal child health in general, and what they can do to protect their children. And then we're trying to get the message out through the media, through the print advertising, through anyway that we can reach people, because ultimately anyone we've told personally, friends or family, they say, "Oh thank you so much for telling us, we had no idea. Of course we're going to get this shot, we just didn't know it was something that was recommended." So SoundsofPertussis.com is there with lots of information, and we're here today to really spread the word to go get that adult Tdap booster.
SMG: We've also made it really easy. We have a Facebook app, where you can put a picture of your child, and then surround the child with the family members, and people that really come in contact, and they can pledge to get the vaccine as well, and it's called the Breathing Room. It's pretty neat.
TCC: You seem to be very dedicated to this cause. But you also have your show coming this fall, The Crazy Ones on CBS. How do you balance these things, giving your time to this campaign, motherhood of course, and also being a full time actress?
SMG: I think as any parent will tell you, it takes a village, and anyone that says they can do it single-handedly is either lying or kidding themselves. I'm incredibly fortunate that I have my family, and that I have an amazing mom, friends, and people around to help. But I also find color-coordinated pens really help as well.
TCC: You started out with more dramatic roles- with Swans Crossing, All My Children, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and then most recently Ringer. What has it been like relatively charting new "territory" for you with a comedy show?
SMG: Well I think the idea is every time you do something to challenge yourself and do something you haven't done, otherwise you're just repeating something. There's no repeating Buffy, or trying to top that, so you always want to go in a completely different direction.
TCC: And in this show, you're working with Robin Williams. What has it been like so far playing his daughter?
SMG: It's the greatest honor I've probably ever had. He's not only a legend in terms of the comedy world, but he's one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I've ever had the chance to spend time with.
TCC: Overall, you've had a lengthy career--what is your secret to such a long-lasting, controversy free career?
SMG: Um, I'm slightly boring [Laughs]. That might actually be my guess. I don't know. Couldn't tell you.
TCC: Your former costar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, is pregnant as the public knows now, and as a mother, what advice would you give her?
SMG: Well, number one, I wait for someone to ask me to give advice, because I think as any pregnant woman will tell you, everybody and their mother has advice for you. So I think that's actually the number rule, wait until you're asked.
To learn more about the Pertussis disease and Sounds of Pertussis campaign, visit SoundsOfPertussis.com and check out their app on Facebook