Chicago Area Immunization Campaign (CAIC)

 

Protecting Our Infants from Pertussis (POIP) Project

 

The Protecting Our Infants from Pertussis Project works to address a critical infant immunization issue—the rise in pertussis in the United States and the Chicago area. The goal of the POIP Project is to reduce the spread of pertussis in the Chicago area, and educate appropriate providers and the public on the importance of pertussis vaccination and cocooning vaccination practices, thus reducing the risk of morbidity and/or mortality among the most vulnerable members of our community. POIP will target infants, new parents, caretakers and health care personnel with close infant contact, and parents, providers and schools in three of the most populated counties in Illinois; Cook, Lake, and DuPage Counties. 


In conjunction with promoting full infant immunization against pertussis with the “You’re Not Done At Age One” campaign, the POIP Project will also promote and implement “cocooning” strategies. “Cocooning” is the successful technique in which mothers, fathers, siblings, health care personnel, and caretakers with infant contact are vaccinated in an effort to create a “cocoon” of protection around the infant(s). The POIP Project is proposing to encourage cocooning models in partnership with area hospitals, providers, provider organizations, and health care personnel in Cook, DuPage, and Lake Counties. 


Some of the goals of POIP are:

  1. Develop outreach materials for the “You’re Not Done at Age One” campaign and getting those disseminated to community-based organizations as well as public health sites. Additionally, educate these organizations on the importance of pertussis vaccination. Train health care providers on the importance of the “You’re Not Done at Age One” Campaign.
  1. Enhance work around promoting the immunization registry and reminder/recall systems.
  1. Work to notify schools, parents, and providers of the new 6th grade Tdap requirement for the 2012-2013 school year.
  1. Conduct a survey of Chicago area birthing hospitals to assess who is effectively utilizing cocooning strategies. Outreach to those hospitals not effectively utilizing cocooning strategies and provide training from a medical professional.
  1. Work with obstetricians, pediatric providers, and appropriate nursing associations to assess acceptance of immunizing new parents (and caretakers), people who are planning to have babies, and pregnant women with Tdap.

 

Pertussis, better known as “whooping cough”, is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the respiratory system. Symptoms generally (but not always) include a persistent cough lasting more than two weeks, severe coughing spasms with a “whoop” upon inhalation, and sometimes accompanied by vomiting. Not only are infants that are too young to be fully immunized more likely to contract the disease, they are also more likely to require hospitalization with serious complications such as pneumonia, seizures, and brain damage. About 75% of infants who get pertussis get it from someone they live with, especially from their mothers; whom often do not even realize they have the infection. For more information about pertussis, click here.

For more information about the POIP Project, contact Lisa Kritz at lkritz@ilmaternal.org or (312)491-8161 x26.