Pertussis vaccination coverage among French parents of infants after 10 years of cocoon strategy.

Objectives The cocoon strategy against pertussis has been recommended in France since 2004 to indirectly protect young infants who are not yet vaccinated. We aimed to measure vaccination coverage among French parents of infants. Methods A representative sample of 300 mothers and 200 fathers of infants aged < 12 months completed a self-administered online questionnaire. They all provided their own vaccination records. Results Overall, 87% of mothers believed vaccination against pertussis to be important; 83% reported being immunized against pertussis but their vaccination records showed that a third of them was wrong (34%). On the basis of our sample, the 2009–2014 vaccination coverage against pertussis among mothers increased from 22 to 61% ( P < 0.005); over the same period of time, vaccination coverage against diphtheria, tetanus, and polio remained stable (80%). Vaccination coverage against pertussis among fathers increased from 21 to 42% between 2010 and 2013 ( P = 0.009). In 2013, one couple out of four (26%) was adequately immunized against pertussis. Conclusion The cocoon strategy was implemented 10 years ago in France but vaccination coverage remains suboptimal among parents of young infants. Healthcare professionals must recommend vaccination against pertussis to young adults and check that their vaccination status is up to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]