Especially for pregnant women

Baby dead: doctors appeal for whooping cough vaccination

The Austrian Medical Association expressed its "deepest sorrow" on Thursday after the death of an infant in Graz following a whooping cough infection. According to Rudolf Schmitzberger, head of the ÖÄK's vaccination department, it is also important for adults to keep an eye on their vaccination status. According to a press release, it would be important to include the vaccination against whooping cough in the free vaccination program.

"My sympathies go out to the family of the baby who died of whooping cough in Graz when he was only a few weeks old," said Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied, deputy chairwoman of the Federal Curia of Registered Doctors. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious infectious disease of the respiratory tract and must be reported in Austria.

Most deaths are babies
Infants and young children as well as older people and high-risk patients are particularly affected by severe cases. According to the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), most deaths occur in the first year of life.

Infants can only be vaccinated from the age of two months, with further partial vaccinations in the fifth and eleventh month, explained Schmitzberger. "Pregnant women are recommended to have a booster in the third trimester of pregnancy in order to protect babies as well as possible from birth."

Refresh vaccinations regularly
It is important that the pertussis vaccination should be boosted after the basic immunization at the age of five to six years as part of the quadruple vaccination with diphtheria, tetanus and polio. For adults, booster vaccinations should be given every ten years until the age of 60, then every five years.

Kamaleyan-Schmied describes her experiences: "As a GP, I find it striking that many pregnant women are still irritated when they are recommended to be vaccinated during pregnancy." Yet this protection through the mother's vaccination would be important for the newborn. We need more awareness of the issue and low-threshold access through free vaccinations.