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Pertussis Vaccine Programme for Pregnant Women (Update)

16 Jul 2014

Public Health England has issued a Press release announcing the recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to the the Department of Health (DH) that the pertussis vaccination programme for pregnant women should continue for another 5 years.

The recommendation follows the publication of new data on vaccine effectiveness and safety. The study published in the Lancet shows that vaccinating pregnant women against pertussis has been highly effective in protecting young infants. Babies born to women vaccinated at least a week before delivery had a 91% reduced risk of becoming ill with pertussis in their first weeks of life, compared to babies whose mothers had not been vaccinated.

Read the full report below.