NSW Health is today advising that whooping cough infections continue to rise across the state.
Whooping cough is serious for newborn babies. To help protect this vulnerable group, NSW Health is urging pregnant women, parents and carers of babies, grandparents and other people in close contact with babies to be vaccinated to protect them from severe disease.
The latest NSW Health Respiratory Surveillance Report shows notifications of whooping cough are at their highest level since 2016, with over 12,000 cases reported from January to September 2024, with cases highest in primary school aged children.
NSW Health’s Director of Communicable Diseases Dr Christine Selvey said vaccination in pregnancy is very important to help protect newborn babies who are most at risk of serious illness from whooping cough.
“Free whooping cough vaccines are available for all pregnant women. Pregnant women are recommended to be vaccinated between 20 and 32 weeks of every pregnancy as this enables whooping cough antibodies to be transferred to their unborn baby,” Dr Selvey said.
“Parents and carers should ensure all children are vaccinated on time, especially in the first six months of life," she said.
Find out more: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/
For more information on whooping cough and vaccination visit: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/
