What is pertussis vaccination and why is it important?
The whooping cough vaccination (pertussis vaccination) serves to protect against infection with the pathogen Bordetella pertussis. The pathogen causes an acute infection of the respiratory tract. In the past, whooping cough was mainly considered a children’s disease. In the meantime, however, adolescents and adults are also becoming increasingly ill with it.
Infants under the age of six months sometimes contract pertussis to a life-threatening degree. Doctors therefore recommend very early vaccination (from the second month of life).
The vaccination recommendation is also based on the fact that whooping cough sometimes causes serious secondary diseases. These include pneumonia, middle ear infection and seizures. In individual cases, whooping cough can cause permanent damage. Babies are particularly at risk here.
Because of these sometimes life-threatening complications, vaccination against pertussis is very important. It ensures that the body fights the pathogens quickly in the event of a whooping cough infection.
What happens during the pertussis vaccination?
These so-called antigens do not lead to disease. However, they stimulate the immune system to produce specific antibodies. If the person concerned is later infected with the “real” pertussis pathogens, the body fights them quickly and specifically: The vaccinated person remains healthy.
In pertussis vaccination, the doctor administers the vaccine directly into the muscle (intramuscularly) of the upper arm or into the lateral thigh muscle (vastus lateralis muscle).
The pertussis vaccination is usually given together with five other vaccinations as a so-called six-dose vaccination. It is effective against whooping cough (pertussis), diphtheria, tetanus, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b and hepatitis B.
Should you get vaccinated against pertussis during pregnancy?
Experts recommend pertussis vaccination with a so-called Tdap combination vaccine for all pregnant women. This vaccine not only protects against whooping cough, but also against diphtheria and tetanus.
Some pregnant women fear that the pertussis vaccine is dangerous for the unborn child. However, this concern is unnecessary. According to current knowledge, there is no evidence that the vaccination has consequences for mother or child.
In addition, if there is a specific risk for polio, such as traveling to a high-risk area, doctors choose a vaccine that also contains a polio vaccine.
For the pertussis vaccine for pregnant women, the interval between the vaccine and any previous pertussis vaccine does not matter. The vaccination recommendation persists in every pregnancy.
Pertussis vaccination before or after pregnancy.
Pertussis vaccination even one to two years before pregnancy is not sufficient for adequate protection of the infant, according to studies. At the time of pregnancy, the antibody concentration is not sufficient to elicit what is known as nest protection in the child.
If a woman has not been vaccinated against pertussis by the time the child is born, physicians advise vaccination in the first few days after birth.
Some pregnant women fear that the pertussis vaccine is dangerous for the unborn child. However, this concern is unnecessary. According to current knowledge, there is no evidence that the vaccination has consequences for mother or child.
In addition, if there is a specific risk for polio, such as traveling to a high-risk area, doctors choose a vaccine that also contains a polio vaccine.
For the pertussis vaccine for pregnant women, the interval between the vaccine and any previous pertussis vaccine does not matter. The vaccination recommendation persists in every pregnancy.
Pertussis vaccination before or after pregnancy.
Pertussis vaccination even one to two years before pregnancy is not sufficient for adequate protection of the infant, according to studies. At the time of pregnancy, the antibody concentration is not sufficient to elicit what is known as nest protection in the child.
If a woman has not been vaccinated against pertussis by the time the child is born, physicians advise vaccination in the first few days after birth.
Some children cry more on the first day after the pertussis vaccine.
In the past, seizures and allergic reactions sometimes occurred as reactions to the pertussis vaccine. Such side effects are very rare today. They also do not lead to secondary damage.
Who should receive the pertussis vaccine?
The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) at the Robert Koch Institute recommends that all children be vaccinated against pertussis from the second month of life. For this purpose, children receive the pertussis vaccination according to the so-called “2+1 schedule” – i.e. three vaccination doses instead of four as in the past. After that, the basic immunization is complete.
Later, booster vaccinations against pertussis are given.
Even for fully vaccinated children and adolescents who received their last vaccination more than five years ago, a new pertussis vaccination is advisable if there is a risk of infection. This would be advisable, for example, if a child has contact with a sick person in the same household.
The vaccination is given at the same time as the vaccination against tetanus and diphtheria. There is no single vaccine against pertussis.
The following people should receive pertussis vaccination in any case:
- Women of childbearing potential before pregnancy or during pregnancy, respectively
- Close contacts of pregnant women and newborns as well as caregivers (e.g., daycare providers, parents, siblings, babysitters, grandparents) preferably four weeks before the child’s birth
- Employees in the health service as well as in community facilities
Whooping cough vaccination: basic immunization
The doctor usually administers the vaccine doses in combination with other vaccinations, as a six-dose vaccine: it contains the vaccines against whooping cough (pertussis), diphtheria, tetanus, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b and hepatitis B.
- The first dose of vaccine is given from the completed second month of life.
- The second vaccination dose is given from the completed fourth month of life.
- The third vaccination dose is scheduled for the eleventh month of life.
Not all vaccines intended for basic immunization are approved for the reduced “2+1 vaccination scheme”. Therefore, if no suitable vaccine is available, doctors continue to give the vaccination according to the “3+1 vaccination scheme” (in months two, three, four and eleven of life)!
Refreshing the whooping cough vaccination
The pertussis vaccine does not protect for a lifetime. For most vaccinated people, the protective effect fades after about five to seven years. Therefore, to continue to be protected against whooping cough, regular booster vaccinations are necessary.
- The first booster of the pertussis vaccination is recommended between the ages of five and six.
- The second booster vaccination should be given between nine and 17 years of age.
- For adults, experts recommend a one-time booster of the pertussis vaccine.
- Special groups of people (healthcare workers and community settings, close contacts and caregivers of newborns, pregnant women) receive the pertussis booster vaccination every ten years.
Vaccinating despite having had the disease
If a person contracts whooping cough, he or she usually develops a specific defense against the pertussis pathogens. However, even this protection does not last a lifetime: scientists assume that immunity lasts for a maximum of ten to 20 years after a person has had whooping cough.
Even after surviving whooping cough, doctors recommend the whooping cough vaccination!
Whooping cough despite vaccination?
If you do not have the whooping cough vaccination refreshed as recommended, the vaccination protection is lost. If you then become infected with the pertussis pathogen, you contract whooping cough. This happens to many young people and adults who have missed the booster vaccinations.
It also happens very rarely that the pertussis vaccination was not sufficient to prevent infection. This is the case, for example, with incomplete basic immunization. Pertussis then usually breaks out in a milder form.
Alternative to whooping cough vaccination?
The same antibiotics (usually erythromycin) are given as a precautionary measure that are recommended in the event of an actual illness. However, this measure does not replace a pertussis vaccination.
