Widely reported today - All pregnant women are to be offered vaccination against whooping cough when they are 28-38 weeks pregnant, the government has announced. The recommendation follows a sharp rise in the number of whooping cough cases in the UK. The scheme will begin on Monday 1st October 2012.
There is a large outbreak of whooping cough in the UK at the moment, with three times more cases in the general population than there were last year. In the first seven months of this year, 235 babies under 12 weeks old had whooping cough. Sadly, at the time of writing 10 of these babies have died. Babies are not vaccinated against whooping cough until they are two months old, so those who are too young to be vaccinated are at greatest risk.
You should be offered the whooping cough vaccination at a routine antenatal appointment when you are between 28 and 38 weeks pregnant. Getting vaccinated while you’re pregnant could help to protect your baby from developing whooping cough in its first few weeks of life.
28/9/12 NHS Behind the Headlines
NCT press release
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