[Should French pregnant women be vaccinated against pertussis during pregnancy?]

H Hattabi1, C Bouchez1, F Dubos2

  • 1University Lille, CHU Lille, pôle femme mère nouveau-né, hôpital Jeanne de Flandre, 59000 Lille, France.

Insights

Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccination during pregnancy is a cost-effective strategy to protect infants. This approach is more effective than cocooning for preventing infant mortality from pertussis.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Immunology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Pertussis (whooping cough) poses a significant mortality risk to infants under six months.
  • Infant vaccination against pertussis is typically scheduled at two months of age, leaving a vulnerable period.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review pertussis mortality in infants.
  • To compare strategies for protecting infants before their first vaccination.
  • To evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of maternal pertussis vaccination versus cocooning.

Main Methods:

  • Literature analysis from January 1998 to 2021 using keywords: "Whooping cough, vaccination, pregnancy, strategy, cocooning".
  • Searches conducted on PubMed and review of vaccination recommendations.

Main Results:

  • 90% of pertussis deaths occur in infants under six months.
  • Vaccination at birth is not effective.
  • The cocooning strategy (vaccinating those around the infant) is expensive and difficult to implement.
  • Maternal pertussis vaccination is effective and reasonably priced.
  • England reported a 78% reduction in infant pertussis cases after implementing maternal vaccination.

Conclusions:

  • Pertussis vaccination of pregnant women is more effective and cost-effective than the cocooning strategy.
  • Maternal vaccination provides protection with each pregnancy.

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