Interpretation of the contraindications to whooping cough vaccination

The official recommendations on the contraindications to whooping cough immunisation are currently couched in general terms. The results of a simple inquiry made to directors of public health laboratories, general paediatriciains, paediatric neurologists, medical officers, general practitioners, and health visitors to see how they would interpret the contraindications in certain specific cases suggest that there is considerable uncertainty on how the contraindications should be interpreted. This is probably one factor responsible for the fall in the rate of whooping cough immunisation in the United Kingdom.