Pregnant women reminded about vaccine

Pregnant women are being reminded that vaccinations are availabe to protect their newborn babies from whooping cough.

Following a rise in the number of cases, Chief Medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said: “Whooping cough is highly contagious and newborns are particularly vulnerable.

“Nine  infants have died as a result of whooping cough this year and there have been 302 cases of the disease in children under 3 months old.

“It’s vital that babies are protected from the day they are born – that’s why we are offering the vaccine to all pregnant women.”

The temporary vaccination programme aims to boost the short-term immunity passed on by pregnant women to their newborn babies who normally cannot be vaccinated themselves until they are 2 months old.

For more information conact your doctors' surgery or midwife.