I went for my yearly check up

[boston bean]

and they suggested I get the DPT vaccine, cause whooping cough is becoming more and more prevalent....

I thought I was done all my shots, but tetanus.... guess not.

Wondering if next year they will suggest I get another MMR.... If they do, I'll get it.

[MuseRider]

1. I had two bad cases of pneumonia

last year followed by pertussis. It was miserable and I still have not recovered totally. Get it so you don't get it. It was not fun. Glad you had a check-up!

[hlthe2b]

2. waning immunity among adults and adolescents is the major obstacle to containing pertussis in kids

It is the major factor in the reemergence of epidemic pertussis (whooping cough) in the US. As one who dealt with the death of an infant not long ago--exposed by older siblings, your health care providers are absolutely doing the right thing.

Right now, adult waning immunity from prior vaccination is not a major factor in measles, mumps or rubella... all which have had recent outbreaks associated with introduction from previously unvaccinated individuals into communities with poor vaccination levels.

Good on you for getting boostered. Anyone else needing to update their 10 year tetanus should likewise ask for that which includes pertussis.

[HappyMe]

3. Yup.

I'm sure my shots from back in the stone age have long worn off.

I may look into getting a booster myself. Better safe than sorry.

[hedgehog]

4. The current CDC recommendation is that anyone who is

going to be around a new born get the TDaP.


Everyone Around Your Baby Needs a Whooping Cough Vaccine

Anyone who comes in close contact with your baby, from older siblings and cousins to grandparents and caregivers, should be up-to-date with whooping cough vaccination. Only one dose of Tdap is recommended for most people 11 years and older. Currently, the only group that CDC recommends get more than one dose of this vaccine is pregnant women (each time they are pregnant).

http://www.cdc.gov/features/pertussis/

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/pertussis/tdap-pregnancy-hcp.htm

[SheilaT]

5. The DPT shot is one of those

that is, I think recommended to all adults every ten years or so.

I got one about 4 years ago.

[boston bean]

6. Not in my experience. Just the tetanus every 10 years..

[SheilaT]

9. Well, if adults are also at risk in being the ones to be spreading whooping cough,

wouldn't getting the vaccine on occasion as an adult make sense?

I know that I had always thought we only needed the tetanus booster, and when I went to get it they went ahead and gave me the entire DPT thing. So presumably, I'm currently pretty immune to any of those.

[boston bean]

11. LOL, you are saying the same thing that I wrote in the OP.

[ismnotwasm]

7. I was exposed to Whooping cough at work

I had to get the booster AND take anti-biotics.

Thanks a lot anti-vaxxers.

[Warren DeMontague]

8. Several little kids and infants died of Pertussis in California last year.

Another wholly preventable tragedy brought to you by anti-science woo types.

[mercuryblues]

10. same thing here.

I refused at the time, but I will get the booster in the next few months, seeing how I will be around a baby.

[distantearlywarning]

12. I got this shot last year

It made me so sick my doctor had to report to the CDC (severe adverse reaction)! I had a fever of 103 for 3 days, and my arm swelled up like a softball and I couldn't lift it over my head. Also a huge rash around the injection site. Over a year later, I *still* get a little rash at the injection site whenever I get run down or stressed (a reaction I have never heard of before)!

But I still think it was better than getting whooping cough. Although I admit I am worried about what will happen to me when I have to get another one in 9 years.