[Art in Idaho]

Adults are susceptible to pertussis, because the vaccine you received as a child wanes over time, after 5-10 years. That's why the CDC recommends that adults and adolescents, especially those in close contact with an infant, receive a single dose of Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis) vaccine.

While the vaccine had previously been recommended as a one-time booster for adults up to age 64, replacing an individual tetanus booster, the committee voted to expand that recommendation: anyone older than 65 who had not received a prior dose of Tdap should receive one if they expected to have close contact with an infant younger than 12 months old.

Grandparents: Study data has indicated that grandparents, for example, are the ultimate source of the infection in 6-8% of cases. However, the committee noted that there was a direct benefit to the individual as well, since whooping cough tends to be more severe in adults older than 65 than in younger adults.

It's time for our booster shot.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Adults are susceptible to pertussis, because the vaccine you received as a child wanes over time, after 5-10 years."

How about if you actually had WC as a younker?? Does that yield a more permanent immunity??