Released on: 28 September 2012
In response to the announcement from the Department of Health on 28 September 2012 that all pregnant women between 28 and 38 weeks will be offered a vaccination for whooping cough, Elizabeth Duff, Senior Policy Adviser for NCT, the UK’s largest charity for parents, said:
“Many parents may be concerned about the recent rise of numbers of people with whooping cough. The introduction of vaccinations for pregnant women could help to prevent spread of the disease and protect young babies who are particularly vulnerable to the infection.
“Pregnant women will be interested in finding out as much about this new vaccination as they can and we would urge them to consult the information provided by the Department of Health.
“The Heath Protection Agency says: ‘Whooping cough is a highly infectious bacterial disease which spreads when a person with the infection coughs and sheds the bacteria which is then inhaled by another person. … We also advise parents to keep their babies away from older siblings or adults who have the infection.’
“For more information about protecting the heath of your baby, parents can visit the NCT website (www.nct.org.uk) or call our helpline on 0300 330 0700.”
