Queensland Health communicable diseases branch executive director Heidi Carroll said the disease could be life threatening in babies.
“They cough so much that they can’t catch their breath. They then can’t get enough oxygen into their systems,” Dr Carroll said.
Well, that sucks :(
There’s an outbreak in NZ as well. Seems like we’ve let other vaccinations drop after COVID :(
Did they stop vaccinating against it for millennials, or is there another reason?
Whooping cough (aka. pertussis) is still on the standard schedule of vaccines. It’s rates of boosters between and after the scheduled vaccinations that have dropped.
There’s a surge in cases about every 5 years, so it’s not unexpected, but the current one is particularly bad for reasons that aren’t clear but probably include lower vaccine coverage.
Some reading here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-08/whooping-cough-surge-record-cases-2024-pertussis/104474394
I was vaccinated as a child, but still caught whooping cough as an adult. Apparently for Gen X, they’re starting to find out that the vaccination wears off after a number of decades.
Pertussis-containing vaccines are recommended for children at 2, 4, 6 and 18 months, and 4 years of age, and adolescents at 11–13 years of age.
Pertussis-containing vaccines are recommended for adults at ages 50 years and 65 years.
Vaccination of pregnant women is recommended during each pregnancy, preferably between 20 and 32 weeks gestation.
Vaccination is recommended every 10 years for healthcare workers, early childhood educators and carers, and people in close contact with infants.
If you’ve got a baby in the family, please ensure that you’ve had a booster in the last 5-10 years. It’s also really important to get the pregnancy vaccine for pertussis to protect newborns. We desperately need to get this epidemic under control.
