Doctors know the sound ? the distinctive ?whoop? a child makes when trying to breathe after a coughing fit, which is why it is known as ?whooping cough.? It is a highly contagious disease and infants younger than 6 months, who are most likely to be hospitalized from the illness, are too young to be fully vaccinated against it.
That?s why it is up to parents, siblings and other caregivers to receive their Tdap booster vaccine so that they cannot pass whooping cough, also known as pertussis, to the young infant. Referred to as ?cocooning,? this strategy of vaccinating loved ones and anyone who will be in close contact with the baby is an essential part of the strategy recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect babies from whooping cough.
The other part of this strategy recommends that expectant mothers receive their Tdap booster vaccine during the last part of their pregnancy so that the mother?s antibodies will pass to the baby before birth and offer some protection in the baby?s first few months. If mothers do not receive Tdap during pregnancy, then they should receive it before they are discharged from the hospital after the baby is born.
Nearly 75% of infants who contract whooping cough are infected by someone in their household and 2/3 of infected infants under 6 months are hospitalized.
Since babies can?t start their whooping cough vaccination series until they are 2 months old and they are not fully protected until after their third dose at 6 months of age, it?s up to the parents to make sure their little one is protected from this potentially deadly disease.
Medical personnel, childcare workers and adolescents and adults who will be in contact with babies should also receive a Tdap booster vaccine to protect themselves and the babies that are around them.
This year we?re on track to have the highest number of pertussis cases in over 40 years in the United States. We?ve already lost 5 babies in Texas this year to pertussis. Let?s not let this preventable disease turn another baby?s playful laughter into the fearsome ?whoop? sound of whooping cough.
Please contact your primary care provider to make sure that you are caught up on all of your booster vaccines.
I am the Director of Vaccinology and Maternal Immunization for the Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research at Texas Children?s Hospital.
I'm also an assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.
jerry lee lewis cesar chavez winning lotto numbers lottery tickets mega lottery sag aftra mega mill
No comments:
Post a Comment