Baby dies of whooping cough after mother not vaccinated while pregnant
A baby whose mother was not vaccinated against whooping cough has died after contracting the infection.
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A baby is the first death of whooping cough confirmed in the UK this year.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly contagious infection of the lungs that can be fatal for babies.
The child, reportedly under the age of one, was taken ill and died between March and June this year, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
This comes after a child died from measles in July at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, the UKHSA deputy director, confirmed the child’s death saying: “Sadly, with a further infant death in the second quarter of 2025, we are again reminded how severe whooping cough can be for very young babies," she told The Times.
"Our thoughts and condolences are with the family who have so tragically lost their baby.”
This comes as almost one in five children starting primary school in England are not fully protected from diseases like whooping cough, tetanus, polio and diphtheria.
Read More: Chickenpox vaccine could 'save NHS millions of pounds' insists care minister
Vaccination rates for primary school children are their lowest in 15 years.
A new chickenpox vaccine was announced this week, which currently costs around £150 at private clinics and pharmacies, and will be rolled out on the NHS in England from January.
It will form part of a new combined immunisation on the childhood vaccination programme, with ministers hoping it will protect some youngsters from severe complications from the virus.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock argued it is “common sense” for parents to vaccinate their children, amid what he described as a rise in “vaccine hesitancy” following the Covid pandemic.
Speaking to LBC, Mr Kinnock said: “There’s been a 10-year trend in declining take-up of vaccines, and I think obviously the vaccine hesitancy that came after the pandemic has definitely not helped.
“These conspiracy theorists, who are peddling this nonsense and rubbish, we’ve got to take them on, we’ve got to defeat them in our arguments and drown out the noise that they’re making.”
The Government is working with GPs, schools and public health authorities to create local and national campaigns in a bid to increase take-up, Mr Kinnock said.
Chickenpox is a common childhood illness and is usually mild