Nationwide, 4,793 cases were confirmed between January and April this year – compared to just 858 in the whole of 2023. During the same period in Hertfordshire there have been 124 cases, which is said to be “far higher” than normal. Babies under three months are at the highest risk of developing complications from whooping cough, which is also known as petassis.
So far this year eight babies have died nationwide – although no deaths have been recorded in Hertfordshire. Newborns are offered a vaccination against the bacterial infection from the age of eight weeks. But until then they rely on antibodies passed on from their mothers, in response to a maternal vaccination that can be administered after the 20-week stage of the pregnancy.
In Hertfordshire and West Essex, latest data suggests that just 65 per cent of new mums have been vaccinated during pregnancy – compared to a target of 95 per cent. Hertfordshire’s director of public health Sarah Perman acknowledged that some women may be worried about having a vaccination during their pregnancy. But speaking at a media briefing on Monday (June 17), she said the vaccine had been used for many years, was “totally safe” and was the best possible thing mums to be could do to protect their infants.
“When the whooping cough vaccination is given in pregnancy it helps women to produce antibodies to protect against whooping cough,” she said. “These antibodies are then passed on to the baby, through the placenta – .
