Updated Standards: Pertussis Vaccination for All Pregnancies, More

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices has recommended that prenatal care providers implement a Tdap (tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis) immunization program for all pregnant women to help protect mothers and newborns from whooping cough. The recommendation advises clinicians to administer Tdap during each pregnancy for women who have not received it before or immediately postpartum before the family leaves the facility. More than 32,000 cases of pertussis have been reported so far this year, mostly in infants, says CDC.