New figures show a drop in whooping cough vaccinations for infants

New figures from the World Health Organization have shown that there has been a fall in the number of infants in Dudley, Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Staffordshire receiving the six-in-one vaccine by their first birthday, which provides immunization against a range of diseases including convulsions. cough, between 2023 and 2024.

It comes as cases of the respiratory disease have risen sharply this year, with the UK Health and Safety Authority (UKHSA) confirming that the number of reported cases in 2024 is more than three times higher than last year.

The World Health Organization says 95% of children should be vaccinated against preventable diseases such as whooping cough, while a leading health expert has warned that more children will die if vaccination rates across the country do not grow.

Of the four areas, Dudley was the only one to meet the UKHSA’s 95% vaccination target, with 95.3% of babies receiving the vaccine, up slightly from 95.2% the previous year, but also down from 97% cent a decade ago.

UKHSA figures showed 91.2 per cent of babies in Sandwell received the vaccination, up from 88.5 per cent the previous year, but down from 92.8 per cent a decade earlier.

In Wolverhampton, figures showed that 89.7% of Wolverhampton babies received the vaccination, up from 87.2% the previous year, but down from 91.9% a decade earlier.

Meanwhile, in Staffordshire, figures showed that 93.7% of Staffordshire babies received the vaccination, down from 95.1% the previous year.

Meanwhile, in the year to April 21, GPs reported 9,575 suspected cases of whooping cough to the UKHSA, which included eight in Sandwell, 18 in Wolverhampton, 46 in Staffordshire and 17 in Dudley.

Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, consultant pediatrician and chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that undervaccination puts “the most vulnerable, those who are too young to be vaccinated, at the greater risk”.

He said “the only thing we can really do” about the rise in cases is to ensure higher vaccination rates.

He warned: “The worrying thing is that if we continue to have high rates of spread and low rates of vaccination, there will be more severely affected babies and, unfortunately, there will be more deaths.”

The UKHSA confirmed that five babies in England died after being diagnosed with whooping cough in the three months to March.

Not all of these cases will be confirmed as whooping cough. The UKHSA, which does not publish local data, said there were 2,793 confirmed cases in England in the three months to March.

That compares with just 858 cases for the whole of 2023, while some 1,319 cases were reported in March alone, according to provisional data.

Pregnant women can also get a whooping cough vaccine, although only 59.3% in England did so between October and December 2023.

This was down nearly 16% from the same quarter in 2016-17.

Sir Andrew said: “Very important, for this very vulnerable group, those who are too young to be vaccinated, is the vaccination rate in pregnant women.

“Worryingly, they have fallen from a peak of around 75% of women vaccinated during pregnancy to below 60% today, and this puts these very young infants at particular risk.”

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, National Medical Director for NHS England, said: “With cases of whooping cough continuing to rise sharply across the country and today’s figures sadly showing five child deaths, it is vital that families shows up to get protection. they need.

“If you are pregnant and have not yet been vaccinated or your child is not up to date with whooping cough or other routine vaccinations, please contact your GP as soon as possible and if you or your child are showing symptoms ask for an urgent appointment see a doctor or get help from NHS 111.”