Whooping Cough

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Thursday 16th May 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

The noble Lord is exactly right: communication is critical and, as he well knows, if the message is confusing, it is very unhelpful. But the message is clear that parents and carers have an obligation to immunise their children, not just for whooping cough but for other childhood diseases. Particularly for pregnant mothers, the message is clear: get immunised.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friend has already mentioned that the highest incidence was back in 2016 and there has been a steady decline in uptake of the vaccine by pregnant women and young children. Therefore, can my noble friend the Minister say exactly what is done to empower pregnant women, particularly in light of the fact that there are fewer midwives and fewer health visitors and, as a result of Covid-19, perhaps pregnant women and those in deprived communities have not had the appropriate access to their services?

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

The noble Baroness raises a very powerful question. The department is working with the NHS and the UK Health Security Agency, alongside those most at risk, working to ensure that advice on vaccination in pregnancy is being offered antenatally and that information materials are available across antenatal and primary care settings, so that pregnant mothers understand the risks of whooping cough and are encouraged to come forward for the vaccine. The NHS is implementing best practice, vaccinating pregnant women opportunistically during maternal appointments wherever possible, but it is so important that those hard-to-reach communities, where English is not the first language, are communicated with appropriately. We are looking at those communities through GPs and, as my noble friend said, through midwives, so that the pregnant mums in those communities are encouraged to get vaccinated.