Help Manchester researchers understand more about how the whooping cough vaccine protects babies

Researchers at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) are trying to understand more about the best time to offer the whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy.

As part of our mission to help all babies born in Manchester to start well, we are inviting pregnant women who have not yet received their vaccine during their current pregnancy to take part in the OpTIMUM clinical trial at their 20 week scan.

Women should receive the vaccine during every pregnancy. The most recent Public Health England (PHE) advice is that 20 to 32 weeks is the optimal window for vaccination, proving to be more than 90 per cent effective in preventing infant pertussis (whooping cough).

Linda Peacock, Research Midwife at Saint Mary’s Hospital, said: “Young babies with whooping cough are often very unwell and most will be admitted to hospital because of their illness. When whooping cough is particularly severe, it can cause serious complications, including death.”

You can protect your baby by getting vaccinated while you are pregnant. By taking part in this study, you can add to the evidence base of when the best time to administer the vaccine is, helping the NHS to provide the most effective protection to babies born in the future.

More about the OpTIMUM study

The OpTIMUM (Optimising the Timing of whooping cough Immunisation in MUMs) trial is taking place at a number of hospitals across the UK and is sponsored by St George’s, University of London, in collaboration with the Thrasher Research Fund and the Department of Health and Social Care.

If you choose to take part, you will receive the pertussis-containing vaccine (whooping cough vaccine) at one of three different time periods, all of which are within the current NHS guidelines.

The vaccine has been routinely used in pregnant women in the UK since October 2012, and there is no evidence to suggest the whooping cough vaccine is unsafe for you or your unborn baby. Its safety is continuously monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

To find out more, contact Linda Peacock via: 0161 7016958 or linda.peacock@mft.nhs.uk.

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