The Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases today recommended pregnant women receive the acellular pertussis-containing vaccine as part of their routine antenatal care to provide direct protection for infants against the respiratory disease.

The number of pertussis cases has increased locally in recent years.

Regardless of previous vaccination and natural infection history against pertussis, the Centre for Health Protection committee recommends that the vaccination can be conducted in the second or third trimester, preferably before 35 weeks of gestation.

The committee recommends using the diphtheria (reduced dose), tetanus & acellular pertussis (reduced dose) (dTap) vaccine, while the diphtheria (reduced dose), tetanus, acellular pertussis (reduced dose) & inactivated poliovirus (dTap-IPV) vaccine can also be used.

Women who have not received any pertussis-containing vaccine during pregnancy can still benefit by receiving a dTap or dTap-IPV vaccine after delivery, preferably before discharge from hospital, for indirect protection to infants.

Pregnant women are also recommended to receive the annual inactivated seasonal influenza vaccine, which can be administered with a pertussis-containing vaccine during the same visit.

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