Feb. 15--Women who are pregnant or attempting to become pregnant should receive a
whooping cough vaccination to protect the baby, according to a recommendation
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Advisory Council on Immunization Practices voted last year to
recommend women get a Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) vaccination
between the 27th and 36th week of their pregnancy.
The recommendation was posted on the CDC website in December and recently
became official when published in the MMWR (Morbidity, Mortality, Weekly
Report). The change is to maximize the maternal antibody response and passive
antibody transfer to the infant.
Babies don't get their first pertussis vaccine until 2 months of age --
and even then, they aren't fully protected until after their third shot, at 6
months. In the interim, they are at especially high risk of getting very sick
from the bacterial disease.
During a 2010 whooping cough outbreak in California, for example, more
than 9,000 cases were reported and 10 infants died, Reuters reported.
CDC officials said the protection from a Tdap vaccination wanes rapidly
and pregnant women should take the additional precaution.
Dr. Cecelia Powless of Community Howard Regional Health said the change
is a result of an increase in whooping cough cases in babies.
Powless said Community Howard had been giving women a Tdap vaccination
immediately after their pregnancy, but that will now take place in the second
and third trimester.
She said all adults who will be in close contact with a baby should get a
Tdap inoculation, which would include fathers, siblings, grandparents and
other adult relatives and friends.
Powless said it was recommended about seven years ago that adults get a
Tdap vaccination as a booster.
"They used to give a booster shot just for tetanus, and there was waning
protection against whooping cough," she said. "The vaccinations are to protect
us and those around us."
Powless said the CDC also recommends pregnant women receive a vaccination
for rubella, also known as German measles.
"The intent is to build a cocoon of immunization around pregnant women,"
she said. "The baby receives protection through the mother before birth and
after through breastfeeding."
Dr. Maryann Chimhanda of St. Joseph Hospital said women trying to get
pregnant should receive a Tdap vaccination.
She said most people receive a Tdap vaccination between the ages of 7 and
18 and should get a booster as an adult. Chimhanda said once an inoculation is
received as an adult for pertussis, another vaccination is not necessary.
"This is all being done to protect the babies," Chimhanda said.
Karen Long, a public health nurse with the Howard County Health
Department, said the change in the recommendation is so the immunity will
transfer to the baby.
"The recommendation for a women to get a Tdap vaccination during every
pregnancy is a change from the former guidelines," Long said.
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