Healthcare staff are urging pregnant women to get the whooping cough vaccine to protect their newborns from a surge in cases of pertussis. In Ireland, there have been 514 cases of whooping cough this year, compared to only 18 cases in 2023. Infants under six months are most at risk, with two-thirds of cases in babies five months or younger leading to hospitalization. Vaccination during pregnancy can protect babies for the first two months of life, with further doses recommended for infants at two, four, and six months. Healthcare professionals are encouraged to recommend and offer the vaccine to pregnant women to prevent the spread of the illness.
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More than 500 whooping cough cases recorded in Ireland so far this year
