CDC Committee Recommends Whooping Cough Booster Vaccination for Adolescents
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at CDC on Thursday recommended that a booster vaccine for pertussis, or whooping cough, routinely be given to all 11- and 12-year-olds, the New York Times reports. Current recommendations call for vaccination against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus at 2 months old, 4 months, 6 months, 15 to 18 months and four to six years (Altman, New York Times, 7/1).
The panel made the recommendation after two "combination vaccines" came on the market containing all three vaccines in one single shot, meaning there would be no need for an additional injection (Ginsberg/FitzGerald, Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/1).
FDA in June approved Sanofi-Aventis' whooping cough booster vaccine Adacel for individuals ages 11 to 64. In May, FDA approved Boostrix, a similar pertussis booster vaccine manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, for individuals ages 10 to 18 (California Healthline, 3/8).
The initial whooping cough vaccination is not effective five to 10 years following injection (New York Times, 7/1).
CDC officials must approve and publish the recommendations before they become final. States are not obligated to adopt them but typically do so, according to the Inquirer (Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/1).
David Neumann, executive director for the National Partnership for Immunization, said that whooping cough will "become a different type of public health issue than it was in the '40s and '50s. The new vaccine will help" (Bluestein, AP/Las Vegas Sun, 6/30).
In related news, the panel rejected a recommendation that children receive a chickenpox booster shot between ages four and six. The panel earlier recommended a booster shot for people found to lack immunity and to be administered during chickenpox outbreaks (Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/1).
Cost, administration concerns and "lack of persuasive data" were reasons the panel rejected the more widespread booster, the Times reports (New York Times, 7/1).