‘Thousands of women and babies’ are unprotected against a rise in childhood illnesses, say NHS health chiefs. The warning comes after rapidly falling numbers of people getting basic vaccines in the wake of the pandemic.
Across the North West, there has been a ‘significant drop’ in the number of pregnant women taking up flu and whooping cough vaccinations in the two years since the pandemic began. In some areas, the number of women receiving the pertussis vaccine for whooping cough has fallen by as much as 25 per cent, translating to thousands unprotected, says the NHS.
Data shows that overall uptake for the flu vaccine among pregnant women has fallen by more than 11 per cent since 2019. Levels of flu are expected to be higher this winter than since before the pandemic, and the drop in flu vaccine uptake amongst pregnant women across the region ‘is worrying’, claims the health services.
