The Isle of Man Department of Health announces that pregnant women will be offered vaccination against Whooping Cough to protect their unborn child.
 
Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease and newborn babies are particularly vulnerable to it. In the UK this year there have been nine deaths in infants as a result of whooping cough and 302 cases of the disease in children under three months of age. So far, in the Isle of Man, eleven cases have been reported but none have been in infants.
 
Dr Kishore, Director of Public Health for the Isle of Man said: ‘We cannot be complacent it is vital that babies are protected from the day they are born. That is why we are offering the vaccination to women who are between 28 and 38 weeks of their pregnancy, to give their unborn baby the best protection.’
 
By vaccinating pregnant women, the short term immunity is then passed on to the unborn babies who cannot themselves be vaccinated until they are 2 months of age. This vaccination programme will be offered to pregnant women from next week through their registered GP Practice.
 
The vaccine to be used is called Repevax the same as is given to children as part of their routine pre-school immunisation booster.  Many other countries such as the United States have been offering the vaccine since 2011.  The vaccine is safe and effective and has not been shown to have any adverse effects on the baby or mother.
 
Advice to pregnant women:

•         If you are pregnant and between 28-38 weeks, please ensure that you receive the whooping cough vaccine.
 
•         The vaccine is safe and effective and there is no evidence that it will cause any damage to your baby; the vaccine will help protect your newborn baby against whooping cough which can be a serious disease in babies.

•         If you have any doubts, please discuss this with your Practice Nurse, GP or Midwife.