Request for comments: Whooping cough vaccinations during pregnancy to be included in the national vaccination programme

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is requesting comments on a change to the national vaccination programme that would mean offering the whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine to everyone who is pregnant. The vaccine is safe for both the mother and the foetus, and it would prevent the majority of severe whooping cough cases in babies under three months of age.

Comments can be submitted until 13 May 2024.

Adults with whooping cough usually display mild symptoms, but for babies under three months of age, the disease can be serious and require hospital treatment. The symptoms of whooping cough include intense coughing fits that can cause infants to vomit, have difficulty breathing and turn blue and even lead to neurological and nutritional complications. 

Studies show that vaccination during pregnancy is effective in protecting newborns from getting whooping cough. In the other Nordic countries, whooping cough vaccination during pregnancy is already part of the national vaccination programme. 

Particularly large number of whooping cough cases reported in 2024

In 2024, the number of whooping cough cases surged in Finland and elsewhere in Europe. A total of 2,770 cases of whooping cough were reported in Finland, which is a record high in the history of the communicable diseases register. Of all cases, 27 were detected in babies under three months of age, and 91 per cent of them required hospital treatment. However, there were no reported deaths.

Due to the surge in the number of cases, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) issued a temporary recommendation in August 2024 that pregnant people be offered the whooping cough vaccine. The number of whooping cough cases was considerably lower among newborn babies born to mothers who had been vaccinated. For this reason, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare recommends that whooping cough vaccinations during pregnancy be permanently included in the national vaccination programme.

Best time to get vaccinated is between 16 and 32 weeks of pregnancy

The priority group for whooping cough vaccinations would include all pregnant people in Finland. The best time to have the vaccine is between 16 and 32 weeks of pregnancy. According to THL, the vaccine could be administered, for example, during a routine visit to the maternity and child health clinic between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. Having the vaccine would be voluntary.

In Finland, children are vaccinated against whooping cough at 3, 5 and 12 months of age as part of the vaccination programme. Booster doses are given at the ages of 4 years, 14–15 years and 25 years. Infants under three months of age are at greater risk of getting seriously ill, because they have not been vaccinated against whooping cough yet.

Inquiries:

Mirka-Tuulia Kuoksa, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 163 079, firstname.lastname(at)gov.fi