Educate Families about the Pertussis Vaccination Tdap – Whooping Cough Vaccination from Adacel

Educate families about pertussis vaccination

Health-care professionals are integral in protecting families against pertussis

Pediatricians play a vital role by

Routinely informing parents about the threat pertussis poses to vulnerable infants and encouraging parents and key contacts to seek Tdap^a immunization
Continuing to immunize eligible adolescents ≥11 years of age with Adacel vaccine, including catch-up immunization for older adolescents

Primary-care providers help prevent the spread of pertussis to vulnerable infants by increasing the number of eligible adults and adolescents immunized with Adacel vaccine

You can make a difference by educating families about the threat of pertussis

Parents and family members may be unaware that they could potentially pass pertussis to vulnerable infants.² This may explain why, despite CDC^b recommendations, only 6% of adults reported pertussis immunization with Tdap from 2005 through 2008.^3,4

^a Tdap = Tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis.
^b CDC = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Adults

Eligible adults 19 through 64 years of age should receive a single booster dose of Tdap vaccine to replace a single dose of Td vaccine for active booster immunization against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis.

Adolescents

The CDC recommends that eligible adolescents 11 through 18 years of age receive a single booster dose of Tdap vaccine, with a preferred age of 11 to 12 years.

Health-care professionals

Eligible health-care professionals who have direct contact with infants <12 months of age, as well as those in hospital or ambulatory-care settings, should receive a single booster dose of Tdap vaccine.

Infant caretakers

The CDC recommends that adults who have or who anticipate having close contact with an infant <12 months of age (eg, parents, grandparents <65 years of age, child-care providers, and health-care personnel) should receive a single booster dose of Tdap to reduce the risk of transmitting pertussis. An interval as short as 2 years from the last Td is suggested; shorter intervals can be used.

Pregnant women

When possible, eligible women should receive Tdap before becoming pregnant. Women who have not previously received Tdap should receive a dose of Tdap in the immediate postpartum period.

Find materials, tools, and references to help you educate your patients and make vaccination visits run quickly and effectively.