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PA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH OFFERS FREE Tdap VACCINES TO PREVENT PERTUSSIS! Free Tdap vaccine can be obtained at: Pennsylvania Department of Health Important Informational Links:
Pertussis, more commonly known as whopping cough, is a disease involving the lungs and airways that is spread through the air when an infected person sneezes or coughs. On Aug. 5, 2010 the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DoH) issued a health advisory regarding a rise in pertussis cases in the five-county region. The single best way to prevent and control pertussis is through vaccination in children. Pertussis vaccine is given to children under age seven. Children should receive four doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine (Dtap) by 18 months and an additional dose before they start school. Pertussis is most severe for babies; about 1 in 20 infants with pertussis get pneumonia. Pertussis usually starts with cold-like symptoms and is suspected after a persistent cough sets in. The main symptom is a chronic cough, which can be rapid coughing followed by a high-pitched However, people are also reminded that immunity from their initial pertussis vaccine wanes after five to 10 years and it is recommended that adolescents and adults get a combination tetanus, diphtheria and acellualar Pertussis vaccine (Tdap) for booster immunization. For more information on pertussis visit www.soundsofpertussis.com. For information about immunization recommendations visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines.
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