Whooping cough doesn’t go away. 50,000 people have already been vaccinated

“We’ve gotten used to the fact that diseases don’t exist, they don’t kill children and adults today,” said Health Minister Vlastimil Válek. “Only vaccination protects us from disease starting to win again,” he emphasized.

10,326 people have fallen ill with whooping cough since the beginning of the year, and 956 new cases have been added this week. These are the highest numbers since the late 1950s, when vaccination was introduced.

“Vaccination misinformation costs lives. It is unacceptable that in the 21st century we see children dying from preventable diseases,” emphasized Zsofia Pusztai, head of the Czech branch of the World Health Organization.

An infant infected with whooping cough has died

Homemade

According to Minister Válk, there are enough vaccines in the Czech Republic for both children and adults. In the past weeks, there was a problem with ordering vaccines, they were provided exceptionally from abroad. 20,000 emergency doses from Canada have already been delivered to surgeries, and deliveries of 78,000 doses from France are also starting.

Also paid for by adults?

The director of the State Health Institute, Barbora Macková, appealed especially to parents of infants and pregnant women to get revaccinated in the third trimester and thus protect their child with antibodies after birth.

6,000 doses have already been set aside for pregnant women in the past few days, and roughly half are still available. “It is not a problem for any facility to order vaccines and they will be delivered to it as a matter of priority,” said chief hygienist Matyáš Fošum.

Doctors have already revaccinated 49,147 adults this year, compared to just over seven thousand at this time last year. For the whole of last year, almost 24,000 adults were vaccinated, who paid for the vaccine out of their own money.

Vaccination against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus is mandatory for children. The Ministry called on parents to ensure that their offspring are revaccinated. It is also being considered that adults should also have one revaccination covered by insurance. The ministry will discuss this in June at the latest.