Stay up-to-date and vaccinate this Whooping Cough Day

This Whooping Cough Day, WA Country Health Service (WACHS) encourages country communities to ‘Stay Up to Date. Vaccinate’ to protect themselves and others.

Known medically as pertussis, whooping cough is a highly infectious and potentially fatal bacterial infection that attacks the airways, causing uncontrollable coughing and difficulty breathing.

Often referred to as the ‘100-day cough,’ whooping cough can cause rapid, violent, and uncontrolled coughing fits until all air is gone from the lungs.

These coughing fits can last for months and can be so severe that they cause vomiting, incontinence, broken ribs, and hospitalisation.

Director Population Health Karine Miller said getting vaccinated and keeping up with booster vaccines is the best way to prevent serious illness.

“Everyone is at risk of getting whooping cough, but it can be especially serious and potentially life threatening in newborns,” she said.

“It’s important for children, adolescents, and adults to not only receive a vaccine but to stay up to date with their boosters as well.

“Doing so will protect themselves and others from serious illness and reduce the spread of infection in country communities.”

Babies are at the greatest risk of severe whooping cough and immunisation of pregnant women offers the baby protection until it can receive its own vaccine schedule from six weeks of age.

The whooping cough vaccine is free for:

• Children aged six to eight weeks, four, six and 18 months, and four years (immunisation is required at each age to be fully vaccinated).
• Adolescents aged 12 to 13 years through the school-based immunisation program.
• Pregnant people.
  

Country communities are encouraged to speak to their General Practitioner, community health nurse, community pharmacy (for adolescent immunisation) or midwife (for immunisation during pregnancy) to access a vaccine or booster.