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In 2024, eleven infants tragically lost their lives to whooping cough, a bacterial infection that affects the lungs and airways. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported that one of the babies who died had a mother who was not vaccinated against the infection during pregnancy. This death, occurring between January and June 2025, marks the first fatal case of whooping cough in the UK for the year. The UK government has issued warnings regarding the low uptake of vaccines, particularly among children, and the increasing vaccine hesitancy.
Despite the recommendations for pregnant women, infants, and young children to receive the whooping cough vaccine, data from the UKHSA revealed that none of the main childhood vaccines in England met the target uptake of 95% the previous year. Pregnant women are currently at a 72.6% uptake rate for the vaccine. Since the introduction of vaccination during pregnancy in late 2012, there have been 33 infant deaths from whooping cough, with 27 of those babies having mothers who did not receive the jab.
Dr. Gayatri Amirthalingam, the UKHSA’s deputy director, emphasized the severity of whooping cough for very young babies, highlighting the importance of vaccination. She stressed that vaccination is the best defense against the illness and urged pregnant women and young infants to receive their vaccines at the recommended time. The government, as well as the UKHSA, have expressed concerns about the declining vaccine uptake among children, with the share of five-year-olds receiving the MMR vaccine remaining low and below the recommended threshold for herd immunity.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock expressed the government’s worries regarding vaccine uptake and hesitancy, noting the increase in these concerns following the Covid-19 pandemic. Campaigns promoting the benefits and safety of vaccinations are set to be launched to combat misinformation and conspiracy theories. In an effort to boost vaccine coverage, the government announced that all young children in the UK will be offered a free chickenpox vaccine starting in January 2026
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