Whooping Cough Vaccination Service

Whooping cough (or pertussis) is a severe infection that causes long bouts of coughing and choking, making breathing hard. The "whoop" is caused by gasping for breath after each bout of coughing, though babies do not always make this noise.

Getting vaccinated while pregnant is highly effective in protecting your baby from developing whooping cough in the first few weeks of their life.

The immunity you get from the vaccine will pass to your baby through the placenta and provide passive protection until they are old enough to be routinely vaccinated against whooping cough at eight weeks old.

The best time to get vaccinated to protect your baby is from 16 weeks up to 32 weeks of pregnancy. If for any reason, you miss having the vaccine, you can still have it up until you go into labour. However, this is not ideal, as your baby is less likely to get protection from you. At this stage of pregnancy, having the vaccination may not directly protect your baby, but it would help protect you from whooping cough and passing it on to your baby.

Pertussis-containing vaccine (whooping cough vaccine) has been used routinely in pregnant women in the UK since October 2012. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) carefully monitors its safety. The MHRA's study of around 20,000 vaccinated women has found no evidence of risks to pregnancy or babies.

To date, around 69% of eligible pregnant women have received the whooping cough vaccine, with no safety concerns being identified in the baby or mother.

Many other countries, including the US, Argentina, Belgium, Spain, Australia and New Zealand, recommend vaccination against whooping cough in pregnancy.

Yes, it is. Published research from the UK vaccination programme shows that vaccinating pregnant women against whooping cough has effectively protected young babies until they can have their first vaccination when they are eight weeks old.

As there is no whooping cough-only vaccine, the vaccine you'll be given also protects against polio, diphtheria and tetanus. The vaccine is called Boostrix IPV.

You may have mild side effects such as swelling, redness or tenderness for a few days when the vaccine is injected into your upper arm, just as you would with any vaccine. Other side effects can include fever, irritation at the injection site, swelling of the vaccinated arm, loss of appetite, irritability and headache. Serious side effects are extremely rare.

Whooping cough is a highly infectious, serious illness that can lead to pneumonia and brain damage, particularly in young babies. Most babies with whooping cough will need hospital treatment, and they may die when it is very severe.

Yes, they are, but the babies getting whooping cough are generally too young to have started their usual vaccinations, so they are not protected against the disease.

The only way you can help protect your baby from whooping cough in the first few weeks after birth is by having the whooping cough vaccination yourself while pregnant.

After vaccination, your body produces antibodies to protect against whooping cough. You will then pass some immunity to your unborn baby.

No. The whooping cough vaccine is not a "live" vaccine. This means it does not contain whooping cough (polio, diphtheria or tetanus) and cannot cause whooping cough in you or your baby.

Yes. Whenever you have the whooping cough vaccine, your baby will still need to be vaccinated according to the routine NHS vaccination schedule when they reach eight weeks old. Babies are protected against whooping cough by the 6-in-1 vaccine.

Yes, you can have the whooping cough vaccine when you get the flu vaccine, but do not delay your flu jab so that you can have both at the same time.

Yes, because any protection you may have had through whooping cough or being vaccinated when you were young is likely to have worn off and will not provide sufficient protection for your baby.

Yes, you should get re-vaccinated from 16 weeks in each pregnancy to maximise protection for your baby.

Be alert to the signs and symptoms of whooping cough, which include severe coughing fits that may be accompanied by difficulty breathing (or pauses in breathing in young infants) or vomiting after coughing and the characteristic "whoop" sound.

If you are worried your baby may have whooping cough, contact your doctor immediately.

This service is available in our branches, which are commutable from anywhere in Yorkshire, including Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, York, Huddersfield, Sheffield, Barnsley, Hull, Doncaster, Ripon, Harrogate, Dewsbury, Keighley and Scarborough.

Yes, you can get next-day appointments at all our branches. Contact our customer care team if you cannot find an available slot.