Protect your babies from Pertussis
(Published 04/2020)
- Pertussis is a respiratory illness transmitted by droplets and may even lead to seizures and coma in severe cases
- Vaccination is an effective way to prevent the disease
- Babies aged under two months are not yet due for the first dose of pertussis-containing vaccination and thus are not protected
- Women are recommended to receive one dose of pertussis-containing vaccine at any time in the second or third trimester, preferably before 35 weeks of gestation for each pregnancy
- The antenatal clinics of Hospital Authority and Maternal and Child Health Centres of Department of Health will provide pertussis vaccination for pregnant women from 26 to 34 weeks of pregnancy
- Antibodies developed by the mother can then pass through the placenta to the foetus and protect the baby