Pregnant London women have the lowest participation rate in the free whooping cough vaccination programme, according to figures released by NHS England (London) recently.

Dr Catherine Heffernan, Principal Advisor for Early Years, Immunisation and Vaccination Services for NHS England (London), said: “The vaccination is safe and effective, reducing the risk of whooping cough by 90% in infants of vaccinated mothers. Babies are then protected until they are old enough to be vaccinated themselves at two months.”

“We’re currently running a research project to understand why the take up of the vaccination is low in London. This will enable us to understand where the barriers may be and help us improve the service.”

Young infants are at the greatest risk of severe illness or death from Pertussis (whooping cough). The vaccination programme for women between 28 and 38 weeks pregnant was introduced in 2012 in response to an increase in the number of cases of whooping cough, with 14 infant deaths from whooping cough in England and Wales that year.

In 2014/15, 56.4% of pregnant women in England received the whooping cough vaccination, but only 46.2% of pregnant London women were vaccinated, which is the lowest in the country.

If you’re a London mother with a child born after November 2012, you’re welcome to share your views by emailing immunisation-submissions.london@nhs.net.