It seems like we’ve been talking a lot about vaccinations in this blog lately. You need the shingles shot if you’re 60 or older; you need the pneumonia shot if you’re 65 or older, or if you have a chronic disease; and of course it’s flu season, so you need a yearly flu shot. You also need a tetanus shot every ten years. And of course, if you haven’t had the shots against Hepatitis A or Hepatitis B or measles/mumps/rubella or meningitis or chicken pox, you should discuss these with your doctor.*

Here comes another one. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), in a report to the CDC last week, made new recommendations on the vaccine against pertussis, or whooping cough. Prior recommendations had called for a single vaccination against pertussis – or whooping cough – for people ages 11- 64, with the preferred time for receiving this vaccine being at age 11 or 12.  (This booster is given, of course, after the series of pertussis vaccinations given in early childhood.) Because of recent outbreaks of pertussis in the US, the ACIP broadened its advice regarding this shot. These recommendations should be made official soon.

Before going over the new recommendations, you should know that the vaccine against pertussis is given as one shot in combination with the vaccines for tetanus and diphtheria; this shot is known as Tdap.  There is another formulation that includes only tetanus and diphtheria vaccines, without pertussis; this is known as Td, and is the immunization that has been commonly used when you’ve needed the tetanus booster required every ten years.  

The new recommendations state that the following people should get a booster pertussis shot:

·        Everyone between the ages of 11-64

·        Adults who do not know their immunization history

·        Adults who have had the “plain” tetanus shot (the one without the pertussis vaccine included, or Td)  within the past five years

Three things to note:

1) It is especially important if you have, or will have, close contact with infants under the age of one year, that you get Tdap in order to prevent whooping cough in infants.

2) Even if you’ve had the plain tetanus shot(Td) within the past five years or so, it is safe to get Tdap.

3) If you’re not sure which type of tetanus vaccine you received – the one with pertussis or the one without – be sure to ask your doctor.

So, what’s the big whoop? (Sorry about that pun) If you haven’t been getting a regular tetanus shot every ten years, then this new recommendation will actually mean NO extra shot for you. Just go get a Tdap shot, and you’ll be covered for whooping cough indefinitely, and for tetanus for the next ten years.

But then I guess that also means that if you have been good about your preventive health care, and have been getting regular tetanus shots, then you will need to take an extra shot – one of the few times that taking care of yourself didn’t pay off. But of course this doesn’t mean that in the future you shouldn’t take care of yourself.  Oh dear, maybe this is a big whoop.

*For the CDC’s recommendations on adult immunizations, go to:

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/adult-schedule.htm

For an easy-to-read schedule of shots you should get, go to:

http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4030.pdf