MUSC pharmacy offers free whooping cough vaccines

For the next month and a half, the Rutledge Tower Outpatient Pharmacy at the Medical University of South Carolina is offering free whooping cough vaccines. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is highly contagious and can be very dangerous for babies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the whooping cough vaccine, known as Tdap (tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis), for anyone who’s never had one before, anybody who comes into contact with kids under the age of 1 and women who are pregnant. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System reports that Tdap is safe for the general population. The most common reaction reported is pain at the injection site.

In 2014, the CDC reported almost 33,000 cases of pertussis across the United States. About half of all babies under the age of 1 who get whooping cough end up in the hospital, and a few die from the infection.

In babies, whooping cough starts with symptoms that look like the common cold, including a cough, runny nose and slight fever. Instead of improving, the symptoms get worse, lasting up to 10 weeks. The baby can end up with rapid coughing characterized by a “whooping” sound along with vomiting and exhaustion from the coughing fits. Adults with whooping cough rarely get the “whooping” sound but can have coughing spasms for weeks.

The Rutledge Tower Pharmacy is on the first floor of Rutledge Tower and is open 8:30 a.m. through 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. through 1 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, call 843-876-0199. The free vaccines are available through April 15 regardless of insurance coverage.