Baby dies of whooping cough after mother not vaccinated while pregnant

A baby whose mother was not vaccinated against darling while pregnancy died after contracting the infection, said UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Death, which occurred between January and June 2025, is the first fatal case of darling in the United Kingdom this year.

It follows government warnings concerning low vaccine absorption, including in children, as well as an increase in the hesitation in vaccines.

None of the main infant vaccines in England reached the absorption target of 95% last year, showed recent data from the Health Agency.

Pek is a bacterial infection of lungs and respiratory tract that can be fatal, especially for babies. Eleven infants died of the disease in 2024.

It is advisable to pregnant women, as well as infants and young children, to be vaccinated. Absorption in pregnant women is currently 72.6%.

Ukhsa claims that vaccination during pregnancy, introduced at the end of 2012, is “the key to passively protect babies” during its first weeks of life. Infants are first offered a blow that protects against darling at the age of eight weeks.

Thirty -three infants have died of the disease since 2013 – of which 27 had mothers who had not received the blow during pregnancy.

Deputy Director of Ukhsa, Dr. Gayatri Amirhalingam, said The case was a reminder of “the way darling can be serious for very young babies”.

She continued: “Vaccination is the best defense against darling and it is essential that pregnant women and young infants receive their vaccines at the right time, ideally between 20 and 32 weeks.”

The health agency and the ministers have recently warned of the drop in the absorption of vaccines in children.

Last year, the share of five -year -old children who had received a dose of the ROR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella) remained at its lowest level since 2010/11, with 91.9%.

The absorption rate for both doses – 83.7% – was at the lowest since 2009/10.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that at least 95% of children should receive doses of vaccines to reach the immunity of the herd.

Poor absorption of the ROR vaccine was blamed for an increase in measles earlier this year. In July, a child died at the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital after having contracted the disease.

This week’s government said all young children in the United Kingdom would be offered a free chickenpox vaccine by the NHS from January 2026.

The Minister of Health, Stephen Kinnock, told the BBC that the government was concerned about the absorption and hesitation of the vaccines, which, according to him, had increased after the Pandemic COVID-19.

He said campaigns explaining “the advantages of being vaccinated and the fact that this is 100%sure” would be advanced while the government was trying to “win this battle against conspiracy theorists”.