A baby has died from whooping cough after their mother was not vaccinated during pregnancy, health officials have confirmed.
The infant, believed to have been under one year old, died between March and June, according to figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). It is the first baby death from whooping cough recorded in Britain in 2025.
Since the maternal vaccine was introduced in 2012, 33 babies have died from the infection. All were too young to receive their own jab, given at 12 months, and instead relied on protection passed on from their mothers.
Of those cases, 27 involved babies whose mothers had not been vaccinated during pregnancy – including the death reported this year.
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, deputy director at UKHSA, said: “Sadly, with a further infant death in the second quarter of 2025, we are again reminded how severe whooping cough can be for very young babies. Our thoughts and condolences are with the family who have so tragically lost their baby.”
The death comes amid mounting concern over plummeting childhood vaccination rates. None of the routine infant jabs in England hit NHS targets last year, while measles cases have surged and a child died in Liverpool in July.
In response, the NHS has announced it will add the chickenpox vaccine to the routine schedule for the first time. From January 2026, babies aged 12 to 18 months will be offered the jab alongside MMR.
