VALLEJO, CA - AUGUST 11: A box of Tdap vaccinations sits on a table during the Solano County health fair August 11, 2010 in Vallejo, California. California medical officials are urging California residents to get booster shots for whooping cough as the state is in the midst of the largest outbreak in over fifty years. Close to 1,500 cases of whooping cough have been reported this year, including six cases that resulted in deaths of children under three years old. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty
ATLANTA -- A federal advisory panel is recommending that all Americans ages 65 and older get vaccinated against whooping cough.
Health officials believe whooping cough is under-reported in older adults, but a goal of Wednesday's recommendation is to prevent older adults from spreading the disease to infants, who are most vulnerable.
The shot is already recommended for younger adults, and a whooping cough vaccine is included in childhood shots.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial disease that in rare cases can be fatal. It leads to severe coughing that causes children to make a distinctive whooping sound as they gasp for breath.
Recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices are usually adopted by the government, which sends the guidance out to doctors.
(Associated Press)