THL continues its recommendation on whooping cough vaccination for pregnant women, half of whom have already received the vaccine

THL has instructed wellbeing services counties to continue vaccinations against whooping cough (pertussis) for pregnant women until the end of April 2025. The aim is to prevent serious cases of whooping cough in babies. It is safe to get the vaccine while pregnant, and it is highly effective in protecting newborn babies from developing whooping cough.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has instructed wellbeing services counties to offer booster vaccination against whooping cough to pregnant women since August 2024. The recommendation has been extended until the end of April 2025, as whooping cough cases are still at above expected levels.

The aim of whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy is to prevent whooping cough in babies. When an expectant is mother is vaccinated against whooping cough, her body develops antibodies, which are transferred to the foetus to protect the newborn against whooping cough. Whooping cough is dangerous for children aged under 1 year and particularly for newborns, who have not yet had the first dose of whooping cough vaccine which is given at the age of three months.  

“It is safe to have the vaccine during pregnancy. The vaccine protects the baby well in the first months of life, when the newborn is at greatest risk of developing severe whooping cough. In Finland, approximately half of pregnant women have already had the whooping cough vaccine”, THL’s Chief Physician Hanna Nohynek says.

The whooping cough booster vaccination in pregnancy has been offered in nearly all EU countries and in many other high-income countries for several years. 

The vaccine is available from maternity and child health clinics

THL recommends getting the whooping cough booster vaccine during weeks 16–32 of pregnancy, but the vaccine can also be administered at a later stage of pregnancy. 

The vaccine is offered by wellbeing services counties and maternity and child health clinics. The vaccine can be given, for example, as part of the health check scheduled for weeks 22–24 of pregnancy or in connection with some other regular health check. The vaccination is voluntary and free of charge. 

The vaccine offered is the dtap vaccine, which provides a high level of protection against whooping cough and mortality related to it in infants. Pregnant women who have had whooping cough during pregnancy or who have received the dtap booster due to their age do not need another dose of the vaccine.

In the national vaccination programme, whooping cough vaccines are given to children at maternity and child health clinic at the ages of three, five and 12 months and at the age of 4 years. The child’s vaccine programme will be continued normally regardless of whether the mother has been given the whooping cough vaccine during pregnancy or not. 

In addition, the booster vaccine is offered to all schoolchildren at the age of 14–15 years and to young adults at the age of 25. 

Whooping cough cases are at raised levels in Finland and abroad

The number of whooping cough cases has increased in Finland and elsewhere especially among the younger age groups. In 2024, a total of 2748 laboratory-confirmed cases of whooping cough were reported in Finland. It is significantly more than before the COVID-19 pandemic, when 200–500 cases were typically reported during a year. In practice, this figure is even higher as not all cases are confirmed with laboratory tests. 

Whooping cough is transmitted through droplets. A person may get it several times in their life as the disease does not provide permanent protection against a new infection.

A typical symptom of whooping cough is cough that lasts several weeks, even up to 2–3 months, and usually becomes spasmodic gradually.

In young babies, the symptoms of whooping cough may be atypical, and the cough may initially be missing altogether. In the beginning, the only symptom may be gagging, vomiting or gaps in breathing. Usually, merely a suspicion of whooping cough is a reason to admit a baby into hospital for monitoring.

The course of the disease can be alleviated with antibiotics if the therapy can be started at an early stage of the disease.

More information

What is whooping cough? (in Finnish) (THL)

Diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine for adolescents and adults (THL)

Diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and Hib combination vaccines (THL)

Hanna Nohynek
Chief Physician
THL 
tel. +358 (0)29 524 8246  
[email protected] 

Satu Kärkkäinen 
Specialist
THL 
tel. +358 (0)29 524 8261
[email protected] 

Aino Nyqvist
Communicable Disease Control Physician
THL
tel. +358 (0)29 524 8557
[email protected]