When Do Babies Get The Tdap Vaccine

When Should Pregnant People Get The Tdap Vaccine

Pregnant people should get the Tdap vaccine between 27 and 36 weeks of each pregnancy, preferably during the earlier part of this period. If youre in an area where an outbreak of whooping cough is currently going on or if you have a deep cut in your skin and its time for a tetanus booster, you can get the vaccine even earlier.

Adults and kids 11 years and older should also make sure they are up to date with the Tdap vaccine to create a cocoon of protection against whooping cough when your baby is the most vulnerable. Since cocooning does not completely protect babies from whooping cough on its own, though, it is even more important that you get the vaccine while you are pregnant.

Cocooning, in combination with getting the Tdap vaccine during your pregnancy and making sure your little one gets all the necessary vaccines on time, provides the best protection possible to your baby.

Tetanus Diphtheria Pertussis Vaccine

• This vaccine is offered to all students in Grade 9. This is a booster dose for children immunized against these diseases at a younger age.
• The Tdap vaccine can also be given to children 7 years of age and older who have not been fully immunized, and to adults or immigrants who have not been immunized or whose immunization history is unknown.
• People born in 1989 or later who missed their adolescent dose of Tdap are eligible for one free dose of this vaccine.
• A booster dose of the Tdap vaccine is recommended for adults who were immunized in childhood but is not provided for free in B.C.
• Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends that all pregnant people get the pertussis vaccine in every pregnancy to help protect the baby after birth. Learn more about the Tdap vaccine and pregnancy in our pregnancy section.

Where Can I Learn More

• Talk to your immunizing health care provider.

About pertussis

• Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a serious infection of the airways caused by pertussis bacteria.
• The bacteria are easily spread by coughing, sneezing, or close face-to-face contact.
• Pertussis starts like a common cold with symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, mild fever, and a mild cough. Over the next two weeks, the cough gets worse, leading to severe, repeated, and forceful coughing spells that often end with a whooping sound before the next breath.
• The cough of pertussis can last several months and occurs more often at night.
• The cough can make a person gag or spit out mucus and make it hard to take a breath.
• In babies, pertussis can cause periods of apnea in which their breathing is interrupted.
• Pertussis can cause pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, or death. These complications are seen most often in infants.
• About 1 in 170 infants who get pertussis may die.

Also Check: Can You Get A Tdap Shot At Cvs

Who Should Get Immunised Against Whooping Cough

Anyone who wants to protect themselves against whooping cough can talk to their doctor about getting immunised.

Whooping cough immunisation is recommended for:

• children aged 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 18 months, four years, and between 10 and 15 years , at no cost under the National Immunisation Program .
• pregnant women in the third trimester, ideally between weeks 20 and 32 of every pregnancy, at no cost through the NIP
• healthcare workers, if they have not had a whooping cough vaccine in the past 10 years
• people working in early childhood education and care, if they havent had a whooping cough vaccine in the past 10 years
• adult household contacts and carers of babies under 6 months old
• people who are travelling overseas, if they havent had a whooping cough vaccine in the past 10 years
• adults of any age who need a tetanus, diphtheria or polio dose
• people aged 50 years, at the same time as they get their recommended tetanus and diphtheria vaccine
• people aged 65 or over, if they have not had a whooping cough vaccine in the past 10 years.

People under 20 years old, refugees and other humanitarian entrants of any age, can get whooping cough vaccines at no cost through the NIP. This is if they did not receive the vaccines in childhood. This is called catch-up vaccination.

When To Get Medical Advice

Contact a GP or visit your nearest minor injuries unit if you’re concerned about a wound, particularly if:

• it’s a deep wound
• there’s dirt or something inside the wound
• you have not been fully vaccinated for tetanus, or you’re not sure if you have

A doctor will assess the wound and decide whether you need treatment and whether you need to go to hospital.

Go to your nearest A& E immediately, or call 999 for an ambulance, if you get severe muscle stiffness or spasms.

Recommended Reading: Tdap Shot At Cvs

Whooping Cough Immunisation Service

Whooping cough vaccines are given as a needle and are only available as a combination vaccine. They can be provided by a variety of recognised immunisation providers. If you’re eligible, you can get the whooping cough vaccine for free under the National Immunisation Program .

• Listen

Find information that will help you deliver your service to your patients

How Does Tdap Protect Newborns

When you get vaccinated during pregnancy, your body creates antibodies to fight the disease, and those antibodies are passed to your developing baby. The antibodies will help protect your baby for a short time after they are born until they can get vaccinated themselves. Getting Tdap during pregnancy also makes it less likely that you will have whooping cough during the time when your baby is most at risk.

Read Also: Pertussis Vaccine Cvs

What If You’ve Already Received The Tdap Vaccine Before You Were Pregnant Do You Still Need It

Yes, even if you received the vaccine before you got pregnant, you should get it again in the third trimester of every pregnancy.

From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.

Provincial And Territorial Routine And Catch

This table summarizes the current routine vaccination schedule for infants and children in all provinces and territories across Canada. Changes to this schedule are updated regularly in collaboration with the Canadian Nursing Coalition for Immunization and the Canadian Immunization Committee Schedules for each province or territory are available. Additional information is available on Canada.ca/vaccines.

Read Also: Where To Get Tdap Vaccine Cvs

Your Baby Is Most Likely To Catch Whooping Cough From Someone At Home

Researchers investigate reported cases of whooping cough to better understand the disease, including how it spreads. In some studies they have been able to identify how a baby caught whooping cough. They determined that in most cases, someone in the babys household, including parents and siblings, got the child sick. These studies also show that there are many other people that could get babies sick, including grandparents and caregivers.

Is Tdap Dangerous During Pregnancy

Unlike some other vaccines that may be dangerous to pregnant women, the TDAP vaccine is safe and encouraged during pregnancy. The only two types of TDAP vaccines approved for use in most regions are dead vaccines. This means that they dont actually carry the live disease-causing pathogen. These vaccines simply carry the antigens and weakened toxoids that will help the body develop immunity towards the disease. These antigens and toxoids are completely safe for administration to pregnant women.

Also Check: Cvs Tdap Shot

Should I Get A Tetanus Booster During Pregnancy

Yes. Pregnant women should get a Tdap shot between weeks 27 and 36 of pregnancy. This is recommended for every pregnancy, regardless of when your last booster was.

People that will have close contact with a newborn may also need to get a Tdap shot at least 2 weeks before the baby is born. This might include a partner, grandparents, and other family members. But these people would only need a Tdap shot if its been more than 10 years since their last one.

Its important to note that these recommendations arent to protect against tetanus. Theyre to protect newborns against pertussis . As mentioned earlier, pertussis can be very dangerous to infants. Tdap shots are the only FDA-approved vaccines that protect against pertussis for people over 10.

When Should My Child Wait To Get The Dtap Vaccine

Your provider may wait to give the DTaP vaccine until he or she feels it is safe for your child. Your child’s healthcare provider will need to know if your child has or had any of the following:

• Infantile spasms, a seizure disorder that is not controlled, or a brain disorder that is not stable
• Any severe allergy
• A seizure or collapse after a dose of DTaP
• Guillain-Barré syndrome that developed less than 6 weeks after getting DTaP
• A hypersensitivity reaction to a dose of DTaP
• A period of crying for more than 3 hours within the first 2 days of getting DTaP
• A fever of 105º F after getting DTaP
• A fever or any current illness

Recommended Reading: Tdap Booster Cvs

What Are The Dangers Of Whooping Cough For Babies

Whooping cough can be serious for anyone, but for your newborn, it can be life-threatening. Up to 20 infants die each year from whooping cough in the United States. About half of babies younger than 1 year who get whooping cough need treatment in the hospital. The younger the baby is when they contract whooping cough the more dangerous it is.

Cocooning May Help Protect Your Baby From Whooping Cough

Encourage others to get a whooping cough vaccine at least 2 weeks before meeting your baby if they are not up to date with their whooping cough vaccines.

It is true that cocooning may indirectly protect your baby from whooping cough, but it might not be enough to prevent whooping cough illness and death. This is because cocooning does not provide any direct protection to your baby, and it can be difficult to make sure everyone who is around your baby has gotten their whooping cough vaccine. Since cocooning does not completely protect babies from whooping cough, it is even more important that you get the vaccine while you are pregnant you will pass some short-term protection to your baby until he can get his own vaccine.

Cocooning, in combination with getting a whooping cough vaccine during your pregnancy and making sure your baby gets his vaccines on time, provides the best protection possible to your baby.

Read Also: Does Cvs Do Tdap Shots

Why May I Need The Tdap Vaccine

• You did not get some or any of the recommended DTaP doses as a child.
• You did not get Tdap when you were 11 or 12 years old.
• You are a healthcare worker who never got a dose of Tdap.
• You never got a dose of Tdap and will have close contact with a baby younger than 12 months. Get the vaccine within 2 weeks of the close contact, if possible.
• You have a severe cut or burn.
• You are a pregnant woman. You need 1 dose of Tdap during each pregnancy, at 27 to 36 weeks.
• You have just had a baby and did not get a dose of Tdap during your pregnancy. This dose is only given if you never had a dose of Tdap.

What Is The Dtap Vaccine

DTaP is a shot given to protect your child from diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis . These are severe infections caused by bacteria. Tetanus bacteria are found in dirt, manure, and dust. The bacteria enter the body through open skin, such as puncture wounds and burns. Diphtheria and pertussis bacteria are spread from person to person. The DTaP vaccine will protect your child until about age 11. Then he or she will need booster shots.

Recommended Reading: How Much Does The Shingles Vaccine Cost At Cvs

What Do I Tell My Healthcare Provider If I Get Cut Or Bitten And I Dont Know My Tetanus Vaccine Status

If you dont know when you were last vaccinated, a Tdap or Td booster is recommended if youve been cut or bit by an animal. If you dont know if youve ever been vaccinated, Tdap is preferred.

Its important to be honest with your healthcare provider. If youre not, it could delay your shot and raise your risk of infection.

When Do Infants And Children Need Vaccines

> > learn more:

Haemophilus influenzae

> > learn more:> > learn more:

Read Also: Does Cvs Pharmacy Give Tdap Vaccine

Whooping Cough Vaccine Eligibility

The following people living in Victoria are eligible to receive the free vaccine.

• All pregnant women from 20 weeks gestation during every pregnancy regardless of the interval between pregnancies
• partners of pregnant women in the third trimester if the partner has not received a pertussis vaccine booster in the past 10 years
• parents/guardians of babies, if their baby is under 6 months of age and they have not received a pertussis vaccine booster in the past 10 years.

Parents and guardians include, but are not limited to:

• fathers
• co-parents
• any other legal guardians.

Grandparents are only eligible for the free vaccine if they are the primary carer or legal guardian of the newborn baby. All other grandparents in close contact with newborns can purchase vaccine with a private prescription.

What Is The Tdap Vaccine

Tdap stands for tetanus , diphtheria, , and acellular pertussis . The Tdap vaccine became available in 2005 for older children and adults. Before 2005, there was no pertussis vaccine for anybody over 6 years of age.

Tdap is different than the DTaP vaccine , which is given to infants and children in five doses, starting at 2 months of age. Tdap is only for those above age 7.

Recommended Reading: Can I Get Tdap At Cvs

Blood Tests Cannot Tell If You Need A Tdap Vaccine

Experts do not know what level of whooping cough antibodies is needed to protect anyone, including babies, from getting sick. That is why CDC recommends all women get a Tdap vaccine during each pregnancy even women with some antibodies due to a previous infection or vaccine. The goal is to give each baby the greatest number of protective antibodies possible.

Diphtheria Tetanus Pertussis Polio Haemophilus Influenzae Type B Vaccine

DTaP-IPV-Hib vaccine given at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 18 months

DTaP-IPV-Hib vaccine is a combined vaccine that protects children against five diseases diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and serious diseases like meningitis caused by haemophilus influenzae type b.

Immunization against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio is required by law for all children attending school in Ontario, unless exempted.

What is diphtheria?

Diphtheria is a serious disease of the nose, throat and skin. It causes sore throat, fever and chills. It can be complicated by breathing problems, heart failure and nerve damage. Diphtheria kills about one out of every 10 people who get the disease. It is most often passed to others through coughing and sneezing.

What is tetanus?

Tetanus or lockjaw is a serious disease that can happen if dirt with tetanus germ gets into a cut in the skin. Tetanus germs are found everywhere, usually in soil, dust and manure. It does not spread from person to person. Tetanus causes cramping of the muscles in the neck, arms, leg and stomach and painful convulsions which can be severe enough to break bones. Even with early treatment, tetanus kills two out of every 10 people who get it.

What is pertussis?

What is polio?

What is haemophilus influenzae type b disease?

Children under five years are more likely to get Hib disease. Children who attend childcare centres are even more likely to catch it. The Hib germ spreads to others through coughing and sneezing.

Read Also: Tdap Vaccine Cvs Pharmacy