WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Pointing to a rise in whooping cough cases, MinuteClinic announced that DTap and Tdap vaccinations are available daily at more than 600 walk-in health clinics nationwide.
The CVS Caremark retail clinic subsidiary said Thursday that about a dozen states have reported confirmed cases of pertussis in the first three weeks of January.
As a result, MinuteClinic is urging parents to get a DTaP shot (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) for unvaccinated children under age 7 and all preteens, teens and adults to get a Tdap booster shot.
Media reports of confirmed whooping cough cases among children this year have occurred in a number of states where MinuteClinic provides pertussis vaccines, including New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia, according to the company.
"We have seen a re-emergence of whooping cough in recent years, and in many cases infants and children are infected by parents, siblings, other family members and caregivers who don’t realize they have the disease," Nancy Gagliano, chief medical officer at MinuteClinic, said in a statement. "Our practitioners at MinuteClinic can help educate parents and other adults about appropriate immunization schedules for their children and themselves to prevent spreading the illness."
DTaP and Tdap immunizations are available daily without an appointment for those 18 months and above at MinuteClinics inside CVS/pharmacy stores in 24 states and the District of Columbia. DTaP vaccinations cost $82 and Tdap vaccines cost $79 at MinuteClinic.
