Overview

• UKHSA reports 502 confirmed pertussis cases in the UK between January and June 2025, including eight in babies under three months.
• Childhood vaccine coverage in England has fallen to about a 15‑year low, with nearly one in five children starting primary school not fully protected.
• Uptake of the whooping cough vaccine in pregnancy has improved to roughly 72–73% but remains below the 2016 peak of about 76%.
• Since the maternal programme began in 2012, 33 infants have died from confirmed pertussis, and 27 of those deaths involved mothers who were not vaccinated.
• The NHS plans to add the chickenpox vaccine to the routine childhood schedule from January 2026, offering it alongside MMR.