Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a disease that can prove deadly for infants. It is caused by a common and very contagious bacterium that spreads from one person to another by coughing and sneezing. The coughing spells caused by pertussis can be so severe that people break their ribs. In infants, the toll is even greater. Seventy percent of infants with pertussis need to be hospitalized. Infants younger than six months of age sometimes die.

In the past, we have vaccinated children against pertussis and two other diseases (diphtheria and tetanus) using a variety of combined vaccines. In the short term, these vaccines work very well. The vaccination series begins when an infant is about two months old and is finally completed just prior to school entry. Immunity improves with each vaccination, but infants, particularly between birth and six months of age, are not fully protected. Should they contract (“catch”) pertussis, very young infants are at risk for developing life-threatening illness.

Vaccines protect against pertussis for years, but immunity does wear off with age. It is currently estimated that at least one million adolescents and adults contract pertussis each year. Pertussis still causes prolonged periods of coughing in these older populations, but their risk of death is insignificant when compared with the infants who come into contact with them. Fortunately, there is a new combined vaccine that protects older children and adults against pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus. It is called Tdap.

In order to decrease illness and death caused by pertussis, New York State has changed its immunization requirements for school entry to include the Tdap vaccine for all children who are 11 years old and who are entering 6th grade. Exceptions will be made for children who have received a tetanus booster or combined pertussis vaccine within the previous two years. Tdap vaccination for these children should be deferred until two years have elapsed from the time of their last tetanus containing vaccine.

The new law will take effect September 1, 2007. By recognizing the importance of adolescent immunizations we can extend the success of pediatric immunizations, save additional lives and benefit millions of people.