Porter County Health Department updated their TDAP vaccinations
Health officials at the Porter County Health Department updated their TDAP vaccinations Wednesday morning, guarding themselves against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, or whooping cough.
Pam Westfall, a registered nurse with the Health Department, said she got her shots this morning since she needed to renew them and she works a lot with children.
“We at the county Health Department all work a lot with kids, and we recognize the importance of health professionals, especially those who work with kids, of updating vaccinations,” Westfall said.
Westfall said whooping cough is extremely important to guard against because it is transmitted through airborne germs.
“For adults, they may get whooping cough and think it’s just a bad cough, and it will go away in two or three months,” she said. “But for an infant, it can mean hospitalization and even death.”
Although children are the ones who typically get seriously ill from whooping cough, it is usually adults who transmit the sickness to them.
The agency also encourages travelers to get their vaccinations updated since they may be around large numbers of people who have not been immunized against these sicknesses, Westfall said.
People who are around children, in particular, should update their immunizations, she said.
“Teens, adults, caregivers, parents, grandparents, all need to make sure to be reimmunized against pertussis, tetanus and diphtheria every 10 years, we recommend, especially those around kids who are 2 years old and under,” Westfall said.
Westfall said the pertussis portion of the vaccination is a “little more expensive” than just the tetanus shot, but the agency is working to educate the county on the importance of guarding against this preventable illness.
For more information, contact the Porter County Health Department at (219) 465-3525 or visit its office at 155 Indiana Ave., Suite 104, in Valparaiso. It is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.