A few days ago, we reported on a new CDC study indicating that whooping cough infection rates are headed for an all-time high this year in the United States. In response to the report, researchers are saying that the whooping cough vaccine schedule may need to be modified in order to more thoroughly protect teens and preteens from the infection.
Whooping cough cases spiked dramatically in California during 2010. A significant spike was observed in children between the ages of 7 and 10, most of whom had already been vaccinated according to guidelines, according to the researchers behind a new study. This indicates that the immunity provided by the last early-childhood booster shot, given when children are aged 4 to 6, may wear off well before their preteen booster shot, which is given when they’re either 11 or 12.
Should Shots be Administered Differently?
Other studies have also indicated that whooping cough vaccinations wear off after approximately three to six years.
The researchers believe that their study supports the notion that children should receive their final early-childhood whooping cough booster shot later than the age of six. Alternatively, they could receive their preteen booster shot earlier than the age of 11. Ultimately, they said that more research would be needed to determine the optimal whooping cough vaccine schedule for these booster shots.
More Lessons From the 2010 California Outbreak
Over 9,000 cases of whooping cough were reported in California during the 2010 outbreak. Most of these cases occurred in infants younger than the age of two months, or before they receive their first whooping cough vaccination shot. Exactly ten of these infants died as a result of their infections.
Children between the ages of 7 and 10 were also affected by whooping cough at a disproportionately high rate during this epidemic, while children between the ages of 11 and 14 were largely spared from the condition. This indicates that the booster shot given when children are either 11 or 12 effectively provides immunity to the infection.
According to the researchers, one method of preventing whooping cough infections in infants who have yet to be vaccinated is to ensure that all of the adults who will be in contact with the infant are properly vaccinated. This method obviously isn’t fool-proof since it’s difficult to confirm the vaccination status of all individuals who may come in contact with the infant.
Another method is to vaccinate pregnant women, according to the CDC. Finally, researchers said that babies could be vaccinated immediately after birth, but there would be a lag period before the infants’ bodies respond to the vaccine.
Bigger Strategies for Whooping Cough Prevention
Whooping cough is an extremely infection condition, and the best way of preventing its spread is to ensure that as many individuals as possible are properly vaccinated. However, no whooping cough vaccinations provide permanent immunity, so achieving the goal of vaccinating the entire population is close to impossible.
A more likely path to the perfect whooping cough vaccine schedule is for science to develop a better vaccine that lasts for a longer period of time. In the meantime, protecting infants and young children, who are most likely to die as a result of a whooping cough infection, should be the top priority for the medical community, according to the researchers.
Whooping Cough Vaccine Schedule: The Bottom Line
A new study indicates that current whooping cough vaccination schedules may leave significant gaps in immunity, particularly for children between the ages of 7 and 10 and for infants under the age of 2 months.
The full text of the study can be found online in the medical journal the Journal of Pediatrics.
