NEW Zealand's pharmaceutical funding body Pharmac is conducting a consultation on proposals to widen access to whooping cough vaccine.
The plan would make the Boostrix pertussis immunisation available to all pregnant women in NZ at any time during their pregnancy, as well as for parents of infants admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or a Specialist Care Baby Unit for more than three days.
Currently Pharmac funds vaccination against pertussis for pregnant women who are between 28 and 38 weeks gestation.
Vaccination against pertussis during pregnancy is important because maternal antibodies give protection to babies before they can receive their first vaccination at six weeks of age.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 15 May 19
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