FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS
Pertussis (whooping cough)
Why vaccinate adults against whooping cough
- Adults are the most common source of pertussis infection in infants.
- Infants are at the greatest risk of serious complications, including death, from pertussis. In 2010 alone, 25 US infants died from pertussis.
- CDC estimates that there are between one and three million pertussis cases in the US annually.
- In adults, whooping cough can cause coughing spells that can affect breathing, eating, and lseeping. It can lead to cracked ribs and hospitalization.
- Pregnant women especially need to be immunized. They should get the vaccine late in the second trimester or in the third trimester.
