To remind everyone to make sure they are vaccinated against Whooping Cough is medically able to

[mitogoshi]

There's an increasing outbreak including the death of a child too young to have been vaccinated. It's particularly prevalent in Bristol, Nottingham and Cardiff currently but it isn't much lower in other cities. I had a booster a month ago when I went for travel vaccines, my gp if offering it to everyone not vaccinated in the past 10 years as a precaution. I personally know half a dozen cases since Christmas and it's a town not a city.

For the young, elderly and immunocompromised this can be deadly and it's not very nice for everyone else, with a 3 week suggested isolation period, plus weeks of disrupted sleep.

Protect those unable to be vaccinated or those too young to have had the 3 doses.

haha good luck with that, I have never had any vaccinations at all, we cannot get a GP apt for ANYTHING since covid so do not hold out much hope of getting a vaccine

Completely agree with this. One of my adult children (20) has just had whooping cough and was hospitalised. It is terrifying. All of us are vaccinated but the jab only lasts 6-10 years according to A&E doctor. I've just had the booster.

You can get vaccinated at pharmacies

I know what you are saying op, whooping cough was the one vaccine I was never allowed to get in pregnancy and I always worried a lot about the baby not having protection. I have three kids and it was always such a weight off my shoulders when they got their first dose. It was awful because I was judged from all angles. I was judged for not getting it, but nobody would agree to administer it. Then I was judged for being extra careful around sickness with my newborn even though you would think it was standard to be cautious regardless. Thankfully none of mine got it, but with figures increasing I really feel for anyone in the boat I was in!

I don’t recall ever being vaccinated for it.
Is it part of regular vaccination schedule?

Genuine question, whenever I’ve looked to try and get it privately, it says even privately they will only give the whooping cough vaccine to pregnant women? How are people getting it/where are you getting it from?

I got a booster recently as I am a student midwife. It is very rife and the uptake of it in pregnant women at my trust is quite low unfortunately

No, it’s only on for very young babies and lasts about 5 years.

It's included in their first round of immunisations (between 8 and 16 weeks I believe). I had the vaccine in pregnancy last year and it's supposed to give some protection to the newborn until they get their own vaccinations.

Super fit elite sport friend of mine got completely destroyed by whooping cough, I previously didn't know it could be that serious. He went from being a complete unit to being gaunt and drawn looking over the course of three months or. He didn't respond well to treatment or was misdiagnosed or combination of the two

I'm just looking up how to get vaccinated (I'm not a pregnant woman) - I had the usual jabs as a kid but I'm in my early 50s now - and there seems to be no way to get it?

How can we get ourselves vaccinated if it's not on offer, even privately?

Apparently only for pregnant women

It seems to be only available on NHS as part of the childhood vaccination programme (and I think you might be able to get it as a catch up for that if you've never had it) or during pregnancy.

Have I missed something?

Some travel clinics will give it if you are travelling to USA or Australia and will be in contact with a newborn there as those countries strongly recommend grandparents etc get the vaccine - but it’s worth noting we don’t have a pertussis only vaccine- it’s a combined booster for diphtheria tetanus polio and pertussis.

Unfortunately there really isn’t any treatment. Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed if it is caught early enough but they are only to reduce the period of time you are infectious- not to treat the illness itself. The NHS deems it a “mild” illness in all but the very young so does not offer any vaccine other than those to help reduce the infection in babies. In reality it’s often very far from mild in fit and healthy adults and requires a significant period of time off work.

I haven’t had any vaccinations since I was a young child. So no BCG (though they don’t do that one anymore) or MenACWY. Tried repeatedly to get the MenACWY but they just kept fobbing me off so I gave up. Can’t imagine they’d let me have the whooping cough vaccine.

Does anyone know how long protection lasts if you had the disease in childhood rather than the vaccine?

Think it is up to the nhs to contact people if they should be vaccinated.

DS had it despite being fully vaccinated. Like @fliptopbin I’d like to know if it’s now unlikely he’d get it again.

@fliptopbin about 10-20 years protection from having been infected naturally, 5-10 from being immunised.
As PP said, it’s in alongside tetanus vaccine so if you had tetanus vaccine in the past few years then you will be covered.

Can I add to the voices. I was vaccinated as a child but got whooping cough as an adult so the vaccine does wear off with time. If you're in any doubt get vaccinated again. Whooping cough is horrible and I wouldn't wish it on anyone nevermind a child.

I never had any vaccines, mother did not believe in them. I am in my 50s now

I can confirm whooping cough is awful, even in older children. I went to bed every night wondering if I would suffocate while I slept. A completely airless 30+ seconds of consciousness is no way to wake up.

And it still affects my lungs more than 10 years later. I can't run long distances without a massive 10-minute coughing fit at the end of it.

It was sitting on the toilet (because my pelvic floor gave up) choking on the thick mucus that was the low point for me. Cough, choke, gag for minutes at a time. At one point I was genuinely terrified I'd pass out because I couldn't get any air in other than the panicked gasps every so often. It's a combination of the worst cold of your life, drowning and vomiting, it's really really hard to explain it.