Whooping Cough Vaccine Available Through Waukesha County Health Department

Editor’s Note: The following information was provided to Patch via a news release from the Waukesha County Health Department.

Whooping cough is still present in our community. Get the pertussis vaccine to protect yourself.  Get it to protect the ones you love.

The pertussis vaccine is available through for a cost of $7. Cash, check, or Medicaid are accepted for payment. Please bring your card with you to the clinic.  No one will be turned away for inability to pay. For community immunization clinic dates, times, and locations, please visit www.waukeshacounty.gov/immunizations or call the Waukesha County Public Health Division at (262) 896-8430.  Immunizations are also available at the Waukesha County Public Health Center located at 615 W. Moreland Blvd., Waukesha, WI, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Walk-in service is available at all clinic locations. 

Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, is a serious bacterial disease which affects the lungs and respiratory tract.  It is spread through face-to-face contact with an infected person. People with pertussis can spread the disease to others before they even have any symptom of the illness.  Anyone can become ill with pertussis but infants and young children are at highest risk of developing serious complications due to the small size of their airways. 

Due to the high risk to infants and young children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices  recently established a recommendation of universal Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccination for adults.  The Tdap vaccine is recommended for: 

• Women in the third or late second trimester (20th week or more) of their pregnancy.
• All those who are close contacts of infants younger than 12 months of age – for example, parents, guardians, grandparents, babysitters, nannies, teachers, and those who have not previously received the Tdap vaccine.
• Other adults, who are not close contacts of children younger than 12 months of age, are still recommended to receive a one-time dose of the Tdap vaccine.