Misconceptions such as there is no vaccine for pregnant women, adults do not need booster vaccinations… are still common, causing many people to prevent diseases incorrectly, increasing the risk of whooping cough.
Dr. Nguyen Le Nga, Medical Manager of VNVC Vaccination System, said that thanks to the widely applied vaccination program, whooping cough in Vietnam is controlled, the number of cases has decreased sharply compared to before. there is a vaccine. However, from the beginning of the year until now, the number of whooping cough cases has increased. The Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, predicts that additional cases may be recorded due to reduced vaccination rates. Doctor Nga pointed out some misunderstandings about whooping cough and vaccines that many people do not understand correctly.
Pertussis does not get worse
In fact, whooping cough is an acute infectious disease, capable of causing epidemics. The causative agent is Bordetella pertussis bacteria, which occurs in all ages but is common in children. The disease is transmitted through the respiratory tract, manifested by severe coughs and a high rate of complications, especially in young children.
According to Dr. Nga, the disease causes gradually increasing coughs. Severe coughs can cause children to break bones, accompanied by vomiting that causes loss of strength. After the cough, the child makes a hissing sound like a rooster crowing, and may have complications such as respiratory failure, pneumonia, and encephalitis. The younger a child is with whooping cough, the more likely it is that it will get worse.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children under 1 year old who are treated for whooping cough in the hospital will have about 1% death, 68% apnea, 22% pneumonia, 2% have seizures such as violent, uncontrollable shaking and 0.6% will develop brain disease.
Newborns are susceptible to whooping cough. Image: PhotoAC
There is no vaccine for pregnant women
Many women have not researched the information, so they believe that whooping cough vaccine is not given to pregnant women. In fact, pregnant women can get a combined shot against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus to prevent the disease. This vaccine is only available in the service vaccination program. The vaccine does not affect the fetus or pregnancy because it is made from killed (inactivated) pathogens.
Vaccination of pertussis vaccine during pregnancy will help create antibodies to protect the mother and transmit them to newborns to prevent disease in the early stages of life who have not been vaccinated or have not been fully vaccinated. The reason is that many studies have proven that children under 3 months old with serious illness often have the source of infection from their mothers. 93% of cases require hospitalization and monitoring for complications such as pneumonia, seizures or brain damage, more than 73 % of deaths related to pertussis in the group under 3 months of age.
Doctor Nga recommends that pregnant women get a shot of diphtheria – pertussis – tetanus vaccine during pregnancy, in the 2nd or 3rd trimester. In addition, pregnant women need to be vaccinated each time. pregnant, regardless of whether you have previously received the vaccine or not.
No booster vaccination required
Vaccines with whooping cough ingredients such as 6 in 1, 5 in 1 are indicated for vaccination in children from 2 months to 2 years old, and can be administered as early as 6 weeks. Many parents mistakenly believe that once their children have received the full vaccination regimen, they will be immune to the disease for life and do not need to be reminded again. However, this is a misconception. Vaccines usually only provide effective protection for the body for a certain period of time. Over time, disease-preventing antibodies will decline. If children are not vaccinated, they are at risk of infection.
Therefore, currently reputable health organizations in the world recommend that vaccines containing pertussis components should be given booster shots at different milestones in life: from 4 to 7 years old, from 9 to 15 years old, for women who are preparing for and are pregnant; Adults get a booster shot every 10 years.
Children need to be vaccinated with a pertussis-containing vaccine with all basic and booster shots. Image: Moc Thao
Adults do not get sick
On the contrary, according to the Department of Preventive Medicine, anyone can get whooping cough. In adults, the disease is usually mild, but they can become a source of infection for family members and children. People over 70 years old, with many underlying diseases such as diabetes, kidney failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, are at high risk of worsening complications, prolonging hospital stays and increasing treatment costs.
Therefore, Dr. Nga recommends that adults should also pay attention to getting enough doses and on schedule of vaccines against diphtheria – pertussis – tetanus to avoid the risk of disease for themselves, protect the health of children in the family and contributes to creating community immunity.