Why Adults Need the Whooping Cough Vaccine

Did you know:

• Adults are the most common source of pertussis infection in infants.
  Infants are at the greatest risk of serious complications, including death, from pertussis. Approximately half of infants less than 1 year of age who get pertussis are hospitalized.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that worldwide, there are an estimated 16 million cases of pertussis and about 195,000 deaths per year. Since the 1980s, there has been an increase in the number of reported cases of pertussis in the US.
• In adults, whooping cough can cause coughing spells that can affect breathing, eating, and sleeping. It can lead to cracked ribs and hospitalization.
• Vaccination of pregnant women with Tdap is especially important to help protect infants. Pregnant women should get the vaccine late in the second trimester or in the third trimester for each pregancy.

Which adults need whooping cough vaccine?
All adults age 19 to 64 years need a one-time whooping cough booster vaccine. Adults age 65 years and older need a one-time whooping cough booster if they will have close contact with infants younger than 12 months. If not already vaccinated, pregnant women should receive the booster vaccine late in the second trimester or during the third trimester, during each pregnancy. The whooping cough booster is a combination vaccine with tetanus and diphtheria. The vaccine is called Tdap. Once an adult gets the Tdap vaccine, he or she should get the Td (tetanus and diphtheria) booster every 10 years from then on.

See more at: http://www.adultvaccination.org/vpd/pertussis#sthash.VDRX8OeB.dpuf

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