Many pregnant women don’t know that a whooping cough vaccine prevents the disease in their newborns
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December 10, 2022Many pregnant women don’t know that a whooping cough vaccine prevents the disease in their newborns
Reuters reported that the FDA recommends the use of a whooping cough vaccine during the third trimester of pregnancy.
GlaxoSmithKline’s Boostrix vaccine prevents whooping cough in infants younger than two months of age.”
The agency added, “When the Boostrix vaccine is given during pregnancy, it boosts antibodies in the mother, which are transferred to the developing baby.”
The vaccine was already authorized for use during pregnancy, but the new decision expands its use for the prevention of pertussis in infants younger than two months.
The health regulator first approved the vaccine in 2005, for use in adolescents ages 10 years through 18 years as a single dose shot to prevent tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough, and later allowed its use in adults as well as for those aged 65 and older.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4.2% of the total cases of pertussis – a common respiratory disease – reported in the United States in 2021 were in infants younger than 6 months of age.
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