To think it’s strange I need a vaccine to meet newborn abroad

Most odd, though I along with most British people have had those vaccines already anyway, I had a booster a year ago before going to India (as it was 25 years since I previously had a booster) and it was free from my drs.

I posted a link on page 1 of this thread about what can happen when a pregnant woman doesn’t get the whooping cough booster. Please look at it. Please respect the Light for Riley campaign.

Three days after the video was taken, Riley died. Horribly. His distraught, brave mother has told the world of her experience.

In France this is also the advice given to soon-to-be parents. Pregnant women get this vaccine but they also like to give any adults living in the household a booster, make sure any older siblings are up to date with their vaccine schedule and yes, anyone likely to be in close contact with the newborn baby is advised to have a TDAP booster if they haven’t had one in the last few years. It’s good for the adults in question too because it makes sure their tetanus immunity is kept up as well as helping to prevent whooping cough epidemics. There have been outbreaks of whooping cough recently here. Vaccine uptake is very good in France because it’s a requirement for babies in childcare and children in schools. They ask for proof of vaccination (photocopy of the relevant page of the child’s baby book). But there are still outbreaks of whooping cough. Our Dr told us that the vaccine is very useful for keeping whooping cough outbreaks down but it’s not as amazingly affective as the measles vaccine for example.

If you recently had a baby, you would hahad the tdap unless you refused it, so no need to pay privately for another.

When DGD was born we were asked to make sure our whooping cough vaccine was up to date before she was born - DILs request, no problem. We are in Aus and I think it’s pretty common for parents to want it? Another baby is due this year and due to the age gap I think we will need a booster and yes, it costs us. Happy to pay and do whatever keeps our grandchild safe.

It’s super standard out here. Our pediatrician recommended it for anyone spending time with our kids when they were babies.

I can’t imagine complaining about protecting my own grandchild.

I'm also in Australia. It's pretty common for parents these days to insist on those meeting a new baby to need a whooping cough booster. I'm not a grandparent yet, but will absolutely be vaccinated when the time comes.

It's quite common to see notes or a message on Facebook to tell friends and acquaintances that nobody who hasn't been vaccinated will be meeting the baby until after that baby has had their own whooping cough vaccination at 2 months.

If you've ever seen a baby with whooping cough, you'd understand.

I remember, many years ago, a colleague bringing her two week old baby into work for all of us to coo and have a hold. One of the women had been sick all week, sneezing and sniffling, but was first in line to hold the baby, even kissing it's head and breathing all over it. I went and had a quiet word to the mother and that baby 'needed' a sudden nappy change. I love babies, but if unsell, I'd decline the cuddle of a newborn as I wouldn't want to take the chance of passing something on.

There's the additional worry in the US of affording treatment and taking time off work (often at will employment).

I'm not in the UK but I was called in for a routine tetanus jab at 65 - and the other two were part of the same vaccine.

I'd never ever get a vaccine while pregnant, and I'd advised daughters not to either

You’ve got to the bottom of the DTAP shot, but I’m surprised by the flu shot request. You having received that (and I’m not sure the one you got in the UK would be applicable to the super flu strain going round here) wouldn’t help the baby or its parents anyway, would it? We’ve all had our flu shots but got unbelievably sick with Flu A over the holidays anyway. I wouldn’t have dreamt of going anywhere near a baby, let alone a newborn one, when I was that ill.

Anyway, they’re only good things. Safe travels and congrats on the new addition!

Required vaccines can be obtained for free at the local health department, with or without insurance.

Whooping cough can kill a newborn baby, so the "best practice" is that everyone around a new baby be vaccinated to protect them as much as possible. It is advised by many doctors where there are outbreaks, to get a booster for anyone in contact with baby and more cautious parents follow this advice.

It’s pretty common in the US for pediatricians to recommend, to the parents of children under three months, that any visiting family be up to date on vaccines and to get a flu vaccination during flu season. Typically these are covered by insurance, and flu vaccines are free at a lot of pharmacies.

I don't think I have been offered any vaccines in my adult life (flu and Covid aside, and even them not for 3 years)? So I presumably am not up to date, but by NHS guidelines I wouldn't get any?
Or are other areas in the UK just offering ones my isn't?

So which vaccine was it?

Oh right. I vaguely remember just after I had my kids there were some recommendations going around due to a spike in WC. This was in Australia. My youngest is 19 so it was a while ago.

That would make sense, you are "up to date" in terms of UK guidance, but not in terms of US guidance if your TDAP was over 10 years old.

Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis (Whooping Cough) are all given together as DTAP/TDAP. It was explained to me with my last baby that the jab you get in pregnancy is useful regardless of when you've had your last tetanus jab. I'd had one 5 years previously due to an injury, so the protection was still up to date. But the jab you get in the last trimester has to be given then in order to confer protection to the newborn.

Yes, it is common in my social circle to make sure family are up to date on their vaccines before meeting the baby. Everyone is supposed to get the tentanus/diptheria/whooping cough booster at regular intervals any regular intervals anyway. I got my booster last week along with a shingles vax. Then flu and now Covid shots every fall.

As far as I know you don't get a tetanus jab anymore (other than as a child) and the diphtheria and whooping cough vaccines that you get as a child will have potentially worn off. Presumably that's why they are vaccinating pregnant women against whopping cough to make sure they are (still) protected..