There is enough vaccine with a whooping cough component and it is regularly delivered to health centers, according to expressed needs.
This was told to "Vijesta" by the Montefarm Pharmacy Health Institution of Montenegro.
"ZUACG 'Montefarm' has sufficient supplies of the pentavalent vaccine (IPV DTaP Hib), which is included in the calendar of regular immunization of children, and which also contains the whooping cough vaccine. The said vaccine is regularly delivered to health centers, according to the expressed needs, and we have not had any delays in deliveries," they said.
"Montefarm", however, has entered the procedure of procuring the whooping cough vaccine (DTaP).
They explained that the whooping cough vaccine (DTaP) itself has not been included in the basic list of medicines, nor in the mandatory immunization calendar, but that the Institute for Public Health (IJZ), due to the frequent occurrence of whooping cough in Montenegro, expressed the need for the procurement of that vaccine.
The IJZ told "Vijesta" that the current coverage with three doses of the vaccine with the whooping cough component in children born in 2018 (six-year-olds) is 88,6 percent (first revaccination 71,7 percent).
"For those born in 2019, coverage is 87,7 percent (first revaccination 67,6 percent), for those born in 2020, coverage is 86,6 percent (first revaccination 60,1 percent), for those born in 2021, coverage is 83,3 percent ( first revaccination 43,4 percent)", said the Institute.
For children born in 2022, they added, the coverage is 78,5 percent, and for children born from the beginning to June 30 of last year, the coverage is 62,5 percent.
"In order to achieve collective immunity, the required coverage with the whooping cough vaccine is 95 percent," said the Institute.
And a few days ago, they repeated the call to parents to bring their children for vaccination, in accordance with the regular immunization schedule.
"Parents who have postponed vaccination until now should make up for missed doses as soon as possible and protect children from dangerous diseases, especially those that are already present in Montenegro, such as whooping cough and those that are getting closer to us, such as smallpox ( measles)", the Institute announced.
From the beginning of November 2023 to the end of February 04, the IJZ registered 516 cases of whooping cough.
Among the registered cases, as they recently announced, the largest share of patients is in the age group between 11 and 15 years (211), then in the age group 26 to 64 years (77), in the age group six to 10 years (75), 16 to 20 years (67).
Among the registered cases, 52 are between one and five years old, 14 cases were registered in children under one year old, 12 in people over 65 years old, and eight in young people in the group between 21 and 25 years old.
"Of the 516 registered cases, in 462, five or more years have passed since the last dose of the vaccine with the pertussis component until the onset of the disease (when immunity cannot be expected due to the characteristics of the acellular vaccine) or the persons were not immunized, or there is no evidence of immunization (mostly in persons older than 25 years)", the IJZ announced.
Vaccination against whooping cough, as well as against all other diseases that are on the regular calendar (measles, mumps, rubella, human papilloma virus...), they reminded, is continuously carried out at regular times on weekdays at selected doctors for children.
"For all diseases, and especially against whooping cough, it is extremely important that vaccination is carried out in a timely manner, i.e. that in such an epidemiological situation, the first three doses of the vaccine should be received at the age of two (first dose), three (second dose) and four months (third dose)," they said.
The IJZ reminds that whooping cough is a disease in which particularly severe symptoms can occur in newborns and incompletely immunized infants (children under the age of one year), and that in them the disease is "often life-threatening".
Adolescents, adults and immunized children, they add, most often have milder or atypical symptoms of whooping cough.
"Although pronounced disease can occur in all age groups, especially in those who have had more than four years since the completed vaccination/revaccination", said the IJZ.
Bonus video:
