Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Study: Whooping cough vaccination fades in 3 years
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
MIKE STOBBE AP
ATLANTA (AP) - The vaccine against whooping cough falters after only about three years, a preliminary study suggests, adding support to school rules requiring kids to get the vaccination periodically.
California schools have turned away thousands of middle and high school students this fall who haven't gotten the booster shot typically given at age 11 or 12. That state had a huge spike in whooping cough cases last year, during which more than 9,100 people were sickened and 10 babies died after exposure from adults or older children.
The study of cases in Marin County, Calif., found the risk of getting the disease was as much as 20 times higher in kids three years or more after they finished receiving a recommended series of vaccinations. But kids vaccinated more recently were well protected.
The findings may help explain why significant numbers of fully immunized children got whooping cough in the recent outbreaks.
Read more - cecilwhig
Comment: It was known that the vaccin doesn't give lifelong protection. If you fall ill after vaccination or for the second time, the course of the disease tends to be less virulent, according to RIVM (= Dutch CDC).
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
MIKE STOBBE AP
ATLANTA (AP) - The vaccine against whooping cough falters after only about three years, a preliminary study suggests, adding support to school rules requiring kids to get the vaccination periodically.
California schools have turned away thousands of middle and high school students this fall who haven't gotten the booster shot typically given at age 11 or 12. That state had a huge spike in whooping cough cases last year, during which more than 9,100 people were sickened and 10 babies died after exposure from adults or older children.
The study of cases in Marin County, Calif., found the risk of getting the disease was as much as 20 times higher in kids three years or more after they finished receiving a recommended series of vaccinations. But kids vaccinated more recently were well protected.
The findings may help explain why significant numbers of fully immunized children got whooping cough in the recent outbreaks.
Read more - cecilwhig
Comment: It was known that the vaccin doesn't give lifelong protection. If you fall ill after vaccination or for the second time, the course of the disease tends to be less virulent, according to RIVM (= Dutch CDC).