By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: March. 24, 2012
Vancouver Coastal Health is offering a free whooping cough vaccine to pregnant women and their partners and anyone who has contact with children under 18 months of age, in order to prevent the transmission to young children, who are at risk of severe illness.
The whooping cough, also known as pertussis, vaccine is recommended to this group if they have not had a pertussis containing vaccine in the past 5 years—the length of time that the vaccine offers protection. Pertussis vaccine is also a routine vaccine given in British Columbia at ages 2, 4, 6, and 18 months, at kindergarten entry and in grade 9.
Since January 1, 2012, there have been 38 confirmed cases of whooping cough in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. This is more than three times the usual number of cases for this time of year.
“Since the outbreak in the Fraser Valley began in December, we’ve been closely monitoring the incidence of whooping cough in our region.” said Dr. Patricia Daly, Chief Medical Health Officer and the Vice President, Public Health for Vancouver Coastal Health. “Because the number of cases has risen over the last week in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, we are stepping up measures to protect residents.”
Whooping cough causes coughing fits that can turn into severe illness and may last for months. It spreads easily through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or laughs. It can be a very serious illness, even fatal, in young infants.
Free vaccine for those eligible will be available through family doctors’ offices, public health clinics and some pharmacies. Contact HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 with any questions you may have.
All parents should ensure their child’s whooping cough immunizations are up-to-date and given on time. “The best protection against whooping cough is to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Daly.
