Earlier immunization of babies, providing the opportunity for free vaccinations for pregnant women in the third trimester and expanding the scope of testing against the disease, these are the measures against whooping cough that the Ministry of Health is taking in the face of frequent cases and its epidemic spread.
At the moment, there are over 500 registered cases of whooping cough in the country, compared to only 4 last year for the same period, Minister Kondeva emphasized.
90% of cases are in children, and this is the most at-risk group. Whooping cough can be dangerous in children up to 1 year old, as they have not yet been vaccinated due to their underage or other reason. In them, whooping cough can develop complications and require hospitalization.
In order to stop the trend of increasing cases of whooping cough in the country, the Ministry of Health plans to update the Immunization Calendar. It is allowed earlier, from the 6th week after birth, to start vaccination with the 6-valent vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, hemophilus influenza type B infections and hepatitis B.
Until now, the Immunization Calendar determined the first administration of this vaccine from the 2nd month, and in the third and fourth month after birth, the second and third administration of the vaccine is correspondingly done.
The first reimmunization against pertussis according to the current Calendar is performed at the age of 16 months, provided that there is at least 12 months since the third vaccination. The second reimmunization is done at the age of 6 years and the last third pertussis reimmunization at the age of 12 years. This year should complete the full immunization against pertussis in the children of the 2012 batch.
Pertussis immunization is an established standard and has been carried out for decades in a number of countries. The ministry draws attention to the fact that immunity is created in about 50% of children after the first dose of vaccine, after the second dose immunity is already established in 80% of them.
Vaccination of expectant mothers in the third trimester of pregnancy is defined as the most reliable protection for newborns and infants up to the age of immunization.
Vaccination during pregnancy during this period does not pose a risk for either the mother or the baby, which is shown by the world practice, the experts from the health department emphasize. On the contrary, administering the vaccine to pregnant women between 27 and 36 weeks of gestation allows the vaccine antibodies to pass into the newborn and protect it.
The ministry assures that it is planned to provide free pertussis vaccines to all pregnant women who wish to be immunized in the third trimester, regardless of their health insurance status. For this purpose, the Regional Health Inspections plan to create the necessary organization after the upcoming series of holidays.
The ministry specifies that “the measures taken are in accordance with the proposal of the chief state health inspector, the opinions of the National Expert Council on Immunizations and the Expert Council on Obstetrics and Gynecology, as well as the increased risk of disease in newborns and babies.”
