Whooping cough vaccine - "no vax no visit"

[TheWeeWitch]

Have just been chatting to a friend in Australia. She told me that she's having problems with friends and family because she is insisting on a "no pertussis vax no visit" policy for all visitors until her baby has its own vaccination at 6 weeks. Some of them are understandably resistant to the idea.

Is this a thing? With my DCs I had the vaccine in the third trimester (as she will too) and didn't think about it again. I feel bad for her having this awful worry but can't help but think it's all a bit OTT

One of my friends almost lost her 6 day old baby to whooping cough (this was just before they introduced pregnancy vaccines). Apparently an adult friend was carrying the virus. They only thought they had a small cough and didn't mention it until mid-way through the visit (because some people are arseholes!) It later developed into full blown whooping cough but not before the baby was rushed into hospital to fight for her life.

After seeing what she went through I think 6 weeks of OTT vetting of guests is perfectly reasonable.

so she's in Australia and there's been an outbreak?

Sensible woman. If I were her, I wouldn't worry about who took offence.
there's a headline section here that says "everyone around your baby needs to be up to date with their vaccine"

www.cdc.gov/features/pertussis/index.html

It's a thing in the US, seems to be pretty much common practice that both parents, all grandparents and other frequent visitors get the vaccination. When I asked the midwife here she looked at me like I was nuts. I'm not sure whether there's some difference in the US or Aus about the efficacy of the vaccine or if it's just a money making thing.

She's being very sensible, and it's a darned shame that others aren't more responsible about spreading infection. Whooping cough can be fatal in small babies, and that's why pregnant women are now vaccinated in late pregnancy. My DD is 21, and got it from work last year - she was off sick for a month, and had course after course of antibiotics/inhalers and was told to stay well away from public areas. She ended up with 2 fractured ribs from coughing. She was vaccinated against it but still caught it.

Her baby, her choice.

The vaccine does give immunity to the baby but as with all vaccinations, they're not always 100% effective so I can understand her worry.

Whooping cough is easily fatal in infants and the passive immunity inherited from the mother is still not infallible. Whooping cough is also one of the vaccines most likely to wear off in adulthood so a booster is recommended for real immunity. I gave birth in the USA in a hospital where every single thing was billed for (right down to the number of pads they used in the delivery room) but they were so concerned about whooping cough vaccines that they provided it free to my husband and anybody else in the baby's family circle (grandparents, future childminder etc) who would have a lot of contact with the child.

Anti-vax idiots are a big problem in Australia

^^ This.

There's another outbreak north of Sydney. There was a big one last year. People died. It's not just a cough.

In the region where I used to live, no state school or nursery without vax certificates and quite right too IMHO (unless confirmation from a GP there is genuine medical cause not to). Also, I got a financial reward of some sorts when DS went through his full immunization schedule on time (inc meningitis and chicken pox, all free of charge).

Not unreasonable in an area of an outbreak. My ds caught WC last November (in an area with no outbreak apparently) and he coughed for 5 months (and I mean coughing until he turned blue and vomited) and is still on extra medication now to control coughing. He did have the vaccination he was just an unlucky one but the thought of a baby having what he had is terrifying.

Do you know for definite she's having the vaccine while pregnant? I couldn't have it so if there was an outbreak in my area I would likely be considering the same policy TBH

I've had the MMR twice now and it hasn't worked so doctors have advised me to avoided anyone unvaccinated while pregnant. I'll probably continue while the baby (my second) is tiny because a visit is not worth a seriously ill baby.

I think about 500,000 people (often infants) die of pertussis globally each year. It's up there with the top causes of infectious mortality. It causes severe cough etc - not for a few days or weeks but for months with your baby up all night coughing frantically. You do not want your child to get this. I think people have forgotten how deadly and how unpleasant these childhood infections can be; if she does not want her baby exposed it is understandable.

Also, when people get pertussis despite the vaccine, it can be because of "vaccine escape": bacteria evolving in response to the vaccine (so as to have reduced susceptibility). This is not all, but likely part, of the explanation. If vaccination coverage had been 100% in the first place, there might not have been enough bacteria around to evolve "escape strains". While people might not like the idea of a needle, the idea of death by pertussis is much, much worse!

She sounds very sensible and is obviously protective of her newborn