If vaccination was not possible during pregnancy, the High Health Authority recommends vaccinating those around the infant and his mother as soon as possible after the birth of the child.
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Until now, only those around infants were encouraged to vaccinate against whooping cough. From now on, future mothers are too, announced the High Authority for Health (HAS) in a press release Tuesday April 12. Pregnant women should get vaccinate from the second trimester of pregnancy according to the HAS, which considers that this vaccination allows their newborn to be protected from birth against this disease which is particularly dangerous for infants.
“If vaccination could not be carried out during pregnancy, the HAS recommends maintaining the cocooning strategy, which consists of vaccinating the family and the mother as soon as possible at the birth of the child”said the institution in its press release.
Caused by a bacterium, whooping cough is a particularly contagious disease that results in severe bouts of coughing for several weeks. In the majority of patients, it is not serious but can cause sometimes fatal complications in the little ones.
Until then, the French health authorities only recommended direct vaccination of toddlers and not pregnant women.