Evening all. Apologies for the long post but I'm having a real dilemma about the whooping cough vaccine. Back in the 70s my cousin received the vaccine and within a few days had a swelling of the brain and as a result was left severely brain damaged. As my aunt and uncle settled out of court, no link with the vaccine was ever officially admitted but they were advised not to have their other children vaccinated. As a result my parents chose not to have my brother and I vaccinated either. I also believe there were a number of other similar cases around this time.
Obviously I now have to decide whether to get the vaccine for myself and also the baby when the time comes. I had a phone consultation with the GP today who confirmed that the current whooping cough vaccine has only been around for 15 years so isn't the same one as my cousin received. She couldn't however say whether the 2 vaccines are related in any way. She also said that there have been no serious side effects reported from the current vaccine.
Anyone know anything about this or could point me in the direction of some reliable information please? Really feel like we're damned if we do but damned if we don't.