Whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine - About the whooping cough vaccine

The whooping cough vaccine is a safe and effective way of protecting pregnant women, unborn babies, infants and children from this infection.

You can find more information about the vaccine and the disease it protects against at  NHS 111 Wales.

Learn more about whooping cough

Eligibility for a vaccine

Pregnancy

The whooping cough vaccine is offered to all pregnant women from 16 weeks of pregnancy.

The protection from the vaccine passes to the unborn baby through the placenta, protecting them from whooping cough during the first few weeks of their life until they have their first routine immunisation when they are eight weeks old. The vaccine also protects pregnant women from getting whooping cough and lowers the risk of them passing it on to their baby.

If you have the vaccine close to the time your baby is born, it may be less effective. So, get your vaccine as soon as possible, after you become eligible at 16 weeks pregnant.

You can find more information about the whooping cough vaccination during pregnancy.

Babies and children

The whooping cough vaccination is offered to all babies and young children as part of the NHS routine childhood immunisation schedule.

Even if you had the whooping cough vaccine when pregnant, your baby will still need to be vaccinated against whooping cough.

Babies are offered the whooping cough vaccine at eight, 12 and 16 weeks of age. From January 2026, babies can have another whooping cough vaccine at 18 months. Young children are then offered a further vaccine for extra protection at three years and four months.

For information about the changes to the childhood immunisation schedule in 2025 and 2026, and to learn why a new vaccination appointment has been introduced at 18 months, see the changes to the childhood immunisation schedule page.

The routine immunisation schedules for Wales provides information about routine and non-routine vaccinations.

Healthcare workers

Healthcare workers can easily pass infections on to babies. Healthcare workers who have direct contact with pregnant women or babies, and those who have not had a whooping cough vaccine in the last five years, are eligible for a vaccine as part of their occupational health care.

About the vaccine

There is no vaccine that only protects against whooping cough. Instead, the vaccines offered are combination vaccines that protect against different diseases, including whooping cough.

The vaccines are not live and cannot cause whooping cough.

You can find more information about the whooping cough vaccination on the following pages:

Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to prevent severe illness from whooping cough. No vaccine is 100% effective, so it is still important to know the signs and symptoms of whooping cough, even if you or your child are vaccinated.

For more information about whooping cough visit NHS 111 Wales.

Information for the public

If you would like to learn more about the vaccine or the diseases it protects against, a number of information resources are available to help.

You can also call NHS 111 or your GP practice for advice if you have any questions.

Further information

Page last reviewed: 2nd May 2025