There has been a significant increase in pertussis cases across all ages since the beginning of May 2024. Pertussis can be particularly severe for babies, many of whom require hospital care and some may sadly die. Pertussis outbreaks usually occur in cycles of 3-5 years, and the last outbreak was in 2017-2018.
Please
- Advise pregnant people of the current increase in pertussis cases and strongly recommend the free Boostrix vaccination with every pregnancy. The vaccine is funded from the second trimester of pregnancy and recommended from 16 weeks. Vaccination during pregnancy is 92% protective against infant death from pertussis.
- Encourage all members of the extended wh?nau, including infants, children and older people to check they are up to date with all immunisations especially their pertussis boosters (funded for people aged 9-13yrs, 45yrs and 65yrs). Some wh?nau may wish to privately purchase a booster if a newborn baby is expected to join the household.
- Ensure all babies receive on-time 6 week immunisations.
- Ensure pathways are in place to identify, diagnose and notify cases as well as seek public health advice for vaccinating close contacts, as recommended.
- Encourage all staff, including reception, administrative and retail, to ensure they are up to date with immunisations (in particular pertussis and measles). Booster vaccinations of Boostrix every 5 years are recommended for all lead maternity carers and healthcare workers who are in regular contact with infants.
Pertussis resources
To support you with promoting the pertussis immunisations, we have A3 posters available on Bluestar, which you can order for free. Please see below on how to easily get a login to start ordering.
Please note that the DL brochure is out of stock on Bluestar as we finalise our new pregnancy collateral. In the meantime, if you wish to download and print a DL, you can access it on Dropbox in the Pertussis (Whooping Cough) Posters and Flyers folder. We?ll notify you via this p?nui when the new collateral is available.
Social media tiles for p?pi, hap? m?m?, 45+ and 65+ (like the ones below) are also available on Dropbox for immediate use on your social media platforms.