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CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
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GET £30 OFF WHEN YOU SPEND £100
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CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
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Whooping Coughin Central London

Whooping Cough Vaccination

Whooping cough is a highly contagious, bacterial disease usually found in children. It starts with cold-like symptoms and then progresses into a cough that can last for 10 weeks or more. While this is very unpleasant, side effects are much more severe in babies under 1 years and can cause serious health complications. It is therefore recommended that pregnant women (and sometimes their close family members)  and those who may come into contact with young babies should be vaccinated, so that they can pass protective antibodies to the newborn baby..

Whooping cough is generally thought of as a childhood illness, but it is actually more common in adults. Whooping cough can be treated with a course of antibiotics to make the infection less serious, but prevention in the form of vaccination is always recommended.

The vaccine used to immunise against whooping cough is Repevax, which is a combined vaccine that also protects against diphtheria, tetanus, polio.

Who should be vaccinated against whooping cough?

Infants normally receive whooping cough vaccine as part of their childhood Immunisation program.

If  this gets missed for any reason, unvaccinated children or adults should be vaccinated at a later date.

Whooping cough vaccine should also be given to:

  • Pregnant mothers – to help protect babies during their first few months, before they can be vaccinated themselves
  • People who have not had a whooping cough containing vaccine for ten years or more and have been in close contact with somebody with whooping cough
  • People travelling from the UK to Australia and the USA to live or work, or to visit households with newborn babies, may also need to be vaccinated

How many doses of the whooping cough vaccine is required?

A single dose of the vaccine is required to update protection for adults.

Booster doses of the vaccine are recommended every 10 years and pregnant mothers are also advised to have a dose of the vaccine in order to protect their newborn baby from severe infection during their first months.

How does the whooping cough vaccine work?

The vaccine used to protect against whooping cough is called ‘Repevax’.

Repevax is a killed vaccine which causes the body to produce antibodies that protect against diphtheria, tetanus, polio and whooping cough.

What is whooping cough?

Whooping cough is a respiratory tract infection with Bordetella pertussis bacteria.

Whooping cough – also known as pertussis –  is a very contagious infection only found in humans. Whooping cough causes a distinct, violent cough which is dry, persistent and uncontrollable. It can make it difficult to breathe normally which can lead to serious health complications especially in infants and young children. It can be very painful and children often make a “whoop” sound when taking breath between coughing; hence the name.

How is whooping cough spread?

Whooping cough spreads easily from person to person via droplets.

This can be via coughing, sneezing, talking, or when spending a lot of time near one another where you share a breathing space. Due to the uncontrollable cough developed through the infection, it can spread very fast amongst people who have not been vaccinated.

What are the symptoms of whooping cough?

It produces cold-like symptoms, progressing to bouts of severe coughing with whooping and/or vomiting in between breaths.

The cough can persist for two to three months. It is most dangerous in children under 1 year of age who are also at risk of serious complications.

Complications include increased risk of dehydration, breathing problems, pneumonia and seizures. Whooping cough is less severe in older children and adults. Parents of newborns may ask unvaccinated family and friends to consider vaccination prior to seeing their child.

Our Patients Speak for Us

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Barry Milton

Excellent and efficient service from reception to consultation. Arranged good contact with my local GP which has enabled me to complete my treatment early next week.

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AES

The best in London. I have been coming here for over 20 years. Professional, easy and provide a comprehensive offering. Travel vaccinations, shingles vaccine & most recently covid vaccine.

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Tess Kokkinou

I visit twice a week to see Andrew Doody at Fleet Street clinic for my back, he has a great bedside manner, he listens and understands when you tell him about your pain. The staff at reception are amazing too very friendly.

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P Croft

I went for a covid booster vaccination and my experience was excellent. I arrived 10 minutes early for my appointment, the lady doing it (Lucy) immediately swallowed the last of her doughnut and took me through. She put me at my ease by chatting pleasantly while she prepared things, and then the jab itself was so quick and painless – I literally didn’t feel a thing, including her applying the plaster afterwards! It was a first class experience, all in the delightful setting of the quaint shop in historic Fleet Street.

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Paul Vella

Excellent service, had a private Covid and Flu vaccination here arrived early and was called in by the nurse almost immediately, very pleasant surroundings and lovely stuff would use again worth £125 to get protected as not eligible for free vaccinations.

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Mrs L Butler

From the moment I arrived I was treated with care, kindness and respect. There was no waiting around, care was highly competent, reassuring and knowledgeable. I got everything I needed in 1 trouble free visit and left grateful for the service. I would definitely use again. The building is traditional, in an historic part of London, so if you are looking for gleaming chrome and plastic minimalist clinic aesthetic this isn’t you but the service and facilities are fully up to date.

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Nicholas Grundy

I recently sought treatment at Fleet Street Clinic for painful ears; I was quickly diagnosed by Dr Hartmann. He prescribed ear drops and arranged an appointment for me a week later with Lucy Mildren. Within a week my ears were better. Everything was very efficient and I was treated with care and skill.

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Jenny Gibson

We booked, we arrived and we had our vaccines. Everything as expected. What really stood out was the level of medical advice from the nurse giving us our injections. It was explained very clearly to us to the level of protection our vaccine would give. As this was a new vaccine the results of medical trials were also highlighted. There was no push to sell more products, just clear advice on what to avoid and what to do to prepare for our trip to the Far East.

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Nay Chadbourne

Have had all my work travel vaccines at FSC and they have always been exemplary. Easy to book appointments, pleasant reception staff (both over email and phone) and appointment times to suit me. Never been kept waiting past my time and quick/easy vaccines done. Highly recommend.

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Shaveta Gupta

Very professional, easy to book the appointment over the phone, all queries were answered straight away with assuring answers by the receptionist, competitive prices, nurse was very polite and informative too. Highly recommended.

FAQs

Yes, it is advised that women receive the combined diphtheria, tetanus, polio, pertussis (DTaP-IPV) vaccination between 16 and 32 weeks of pregnancy.

The most common side effects are  soreness or redness around the injection, slightly increased temperature, headache  and fatigue. These symptoms are mild and short-lived, usually only present for 24-48 hours. More serious side effects are extremely rare.

Yes, infants are routinely offered the vaccine as part of their childhood vaccination programme and women are normally offered the vaccine during pregnancy.

We are happy to help if for any reason this has not been done.

However, NHS vaccination is not normally offered to family members, and we are happy to help in that situation.

Most vaccines take approximately 2 weeks to reach full effect.

Yes, we are happy to provide childhood vaccines for children if for any reason this cannot be provided by the NHS. Please contact us for more information.

When attending with children, please bring your child’s “red book” along with you.

In the UK, your child’s vaccination history is normally recorded in their red book, which should be updated every time they receive a vaccine.

If you forget to bring it, we can still see you and vaccinate your child without it, and update it afterwards.

When given as a booster dose to adults, the dtap-IPV vaccination is considered to provide protection for 10 years.

For children, the primary vaccination schedule consists of a series of doses in infancy, with pre-school boosters.

In the UK, adults are not routinely offered booster doses other than between 16-32 weeks of pregnancy, though in other countries have different policies.

Whooping cough is generally advised for pregnant women, rather than those who are in close contact with newborns.

However, particularly in countries where whooping cough is more prevalent, or where there is increased awareness of possible problems, vaccination is also advised for close contacts, caregivers and close family members who will be in contact with unimmunised infants.

We are often asked to vaccinate grandparents travelling to Australia or the United States to visit newborn grandchildren.

If you are having the whooping cough vaccine because you will be in close contact with a newborn baby, it is best to try and be vaccinated at least two weeks in advance.

Whooping cough is a highly serious illness that can lead to pneumonia and brain damage in infants. Very young infants with whooping cough may require hospital treatment and it can prove fatal. For adults, the symptoms are less severe but in both it is highly contagious.

Whooping cough symptoms start out like the common cold. After 1-2 weeks a dry, irritating cough causes severe coughing spells. It is named so due to the ‘whoop’ noise made by infants when they draw breath in between bouts of coughing.

Although whooping cough, and severe disease is associated with infants, adults can still get whooping cough, become unwell with it, and pass it on to those who are susceptible.

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