All U.S. Adults Should Get Whooping Cough Shot: Panel Would help
protect infants, who are especially vulnerable to the disease
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health experts
recommended Wednesday that all adults get vaccinated against
whooping cough, an infectious bacterial disease that triggers
uncontrollable coughing and is especially dangerous to infants.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices voted to expand the
vaccination recommendation to include all adults, including
those aged 65 and older. Specifically, the panel recommended
that adults aged 19 and older who have not been vaccinated
should do so. Children have been vaccinated against whooping
cough since the middle of the last century. Last September, the
CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics issued revised
recommendations for the so-called Tdap vaccine, which protects
against whooping cough (pertussis) in older children and adults.
The vaccine also protects against diphthe