Beginning next week, Alberta Health Services will be offering a booster dose of the whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine to southern Alberta children ages 10, 11 and 12.
An outbreak of the disease has now spread to 257 people in southern Alberta, with 588 cases now reported this year province-wide. All of the sick people have already or are expected to make a full recovery, but according to health officials, two children had to be hospitalized.
“We continue to have a proliferation of cases in the south zone linked to an outbreak on the west side,” said Dr. Karin Goodison, medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services’ south zone.
“When we looked at those cases, we found that most involved people that were unimmunized, but we’re also seeing some cases in immunized children.”
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Goodison says most of the cases involving immunized children have been affecting those aged 11 and 12.
“By this age, we’re seeing a waning in immunity, so we’re offering an additional dose to kids ages 10, 11 and 12.”
Health officials are hoping this booster dose will prevent the disease from spreading more quickly once children return to school in a couple of weeks.
“That’s part of the reason that we looked at offering this booster dose in August, so that kids would return to classes with extra protection.”
The vaccine is part of Alberta’s routine childhood immunization schedule. Doses of the dTAP vaccine – which delivers protection against diptheria, whooping cough, tetanus and polio – is recommended for all children at age two months, four months, six months, 18 months, between four and six years and again in Grade 9.
READ MORE: Anti-vax mother warns others of daughter’s whooping cough ‘nightmare’
Adults are urged to get a booster at some point. The vaccine is also available to pregnant women during their third trimester who live in the province’s south and central zones.
The vaccine is covered by Alberta Health and can be accessed through community health centres or public health offices.
Booster shots are only available to children who live in Alberta’s south zone, who are between the ages of 10 and 12. The booster is available beginning the week of Aug. 21 by appointment only at public health clinics within the communities of:
- Bow Island
- Brooks
- Cardston
- Coaldale
- Fort MacLeod
- Lethbridge
- Medicine Hat
- Oyen
- Picture Butte
- Pincher Creek
- Raymond
- Taber
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