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Mortality from pertussis is highest in young infants, and previous studies demonstrate that even one dose of pertussis vaccine can protect infants from severe disease and death (NEJM JW Pediatr Adolesc Med Jul 2015 and Pediatrics 2015; 135:990). Therefore, guidelines recommend that pregnant women should be immunized between 27 and 36 weeks' gestation to best provide passive immunity to infants in the first 8 weeks of life, when they are most vulnerable.
In a retrospective study of nearly 75,000 mothers and their infants born in 2013–2014 in California, researchers compared the risk for pertussis in infants born to women who received Tdap (tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis) vaccine between 27 and 36 weeks' ges…