Health Department advises adults to get Pertussis booster

The Bear River Health Department had two outbreaks of Pertussis (otherwise known as whooping cough) during 2012, one in Cache County and the other in Box Elder County. In her annual report to the Cache County Council Tuesday, Bear River Health Department communications director Jill Parker said Pertussis is a disease that is highly contagious and one that can cause a great deal of sickness and death in children.

“We think about these immunizations in terms of children but actually adults should be receiving a booster,” Parker advised the council. “A one-time in your life booster of Pertussis, especially if you are a grandparent or have small children at your home because it creates a cocoon around these babies who can’t be fully immunized.

“So if you haven’t had a Tdap, is what it’s called (a booster), you can come right to the health department or to your health care provider to get that. It’s very important.”

Parker says a statewide adult Pertussis immunization program is planned for the coming year. She says next to Pertussis, chicken pox was the most-often reported vaccine-preventable disease this year followed by Influenza.

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