San Benito County’s Public Health Department is urging
vaccinations of whooping cough for all eligible residents,
according to a statement from the agency.
San Benito County’s Public Health Department is urging vaccinations of whooping cough for all eligible residents, according to a statement from the agency.
The department noted how there had been six infant deaths reported in California during the epidemic. The California Department of Public Health recommends that all patients indicated for immunization against tetanus, diphtheria or pertussis be immunized with the following: DTap if age 6 weeks through 6 years, or Tdap if age 7 years and older.
New pertussis vaccination recommendations recently released by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) include:
– all persons without documentation of full immunization against pertussis be fully immunized at the earliest opportunity, especially women of childbearing age, preferably before pregnancy but otherwise during or after pregnancy – while pregnancy is not a contraindication
– other close contacts of infants, especially parents and childcare providers regardless of when contacts received any prior doses of Td
– health care personnel, especially those who have direct contact with infants and pregnant women
– patients with wounds – CDPH recommends that providers administer Tdap whenever tetanus toxoid is indicated for wound management in patients 7 years of age or older
According to public health, increasing community immunity through widespread immunization will aid in decreasing the chance that vulnerable infants will be exposed to pertussis. Immunization will also prevent debilitating cases of pertussis in older children, adolescents and adults.
Please inform your health care providers that they may consider an accelerated infant DTaP schedule. Low-cost vaccinations for pertussis are available at the San Benito County Public Health Department for families of high-risk infants. You may also check with your medical provider or by calling the San Benito Health Foundation at (831) 637- 5306.
