COURT HOUSE – Freeholder Gerald M. Thornton announced that Cape May County is participating in the Give Immunity Fight Transmission Program (G.I.F.T.).
The pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur has donated a limited supply of the vaccine Adacel (Tdap), which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis to the County Health Department for distribution to individuals that are low income and uninsured.
Pertussis, often referred to as whooping cough, is a very contagious disease especially to the very young. Infants do not start the primary vaccination series known as DTaP until they are two months of age and may not be fully protected until they receive their third or fourth vaccination.
Freeholder Thornton said, “It is a public health response to protect our most vulnerable residents. About 75% of babies who get pertussis contract the disease from a household member”.
Kevin Thomas, Health Officer, added, “Pertussis is often thought of as a childhood disease, when in fact, adults and adolescents are capable of contracting and spreading this serious disease even though they have been previously vaccinated. Their symptoms and complications may not be as serious as the unvaccinated infant and often goes undiagnosed. If an infant catches pertussis it can lead to serious complications and even death.”
Even though the majority of the population was vaccinated as infants and receives a booster as a young adolescent, the vaccine may lose its ability to protect against pertussis after 5-10 years. The CDC now recommends the Tdap vaccine for 11 through 64 years of age and for adults over 65 years of age who anticipate having close contact with an infant aged less than 12 months.
For more information or to schedule an appointment call 609-465-1200.
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