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This annual report evaluates prenatal pertussis vaccine coverage for women who delivered in the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial yearÌýand the fourth quarter of the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial year, from January 2026 to March 2026.Ìý

The main findings were that:Ìý

• annual coverage was 73.0% in 2025 to 2026, compared with 65.6% in 2024 to 2025 and 58.6% in 2023 to 2024
• annual coverage by Commissioning Region ranged from 65.3% in London to 80.4% in theÌýSouth West
• annual coverage by deprivation ranged from 82.2% in the least deprived decile and 63.1% in the most deprived decile
• coverage for quarter 4 was 74.3% in January 2026, 73.9% in February 2026 and 73.9% in March 2026
• coverage for quarter 4 was 74.0%, which was 2.7 percentage points higher than quarter 4 coverage in the previousÌýfinancial year

Note 1. A new point of care app developed by NHSE to record vaccination events was introduced in September 2024. The Record a Vaccination service (RAVs) has improved dataflows into general practice which may partially account for the increase in coverage reported in recent monthsÌý

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This report presents pertussis vaccine coverage in pregnant women in England for the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial yearÌýand the fourth quarter of the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial year, from January 2026 to March 2026.Ìý

The pertussis vaccine has been offered toÌýpregnant women since 1 October 2012Ìýfollowing a period of increased pertussis activity in all age groups, including infants under 3 months of age, and the declaration of a national pertussis outbreak in April 2012.Ìý

In June 2014, theÌýJoint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)ÌýadvisedÌýit should continue for a further 5 years. In February 2016, the  c´Ç²Ô²õ¾±»å±ð°ù±ð»åÌýÌýdemonstrating that vaccination earlier in pregnancy would increase opportunities during pregnancy for vaccination, without detrimentally affecting the protection afforded to the infant. Based on this, JCVI advisedÌýthat vaccination could be offered from gestational week 16, although forÌýoperational reasonsÌývaccination should ideally be offered from around 20 weeks, on or after theÌýfoetalÌýanomaly scan.Ìý

This advice was implemented from April 2016 as was offering the vaccine through general practice as well as some maternity services. In 2019, following the JCVI r±ð³¦´Ç³¾³¾±ð²Ô»å²¹³Ù¾±´Ç²Ô, the prenatal pertussis vaccine became a routineÌýprogrammeÌýin England.Ìý

°Õ³ó±ðÌýprenatal pertussis vaccination programmeÌýaims toÌýminimiseÌýdisease,ÌýhospitalisationÌýand deaths in young infants, through the intra-uterine transfer of maternal antibodies, until they can be actively protected by the routine infantÌýprogrammeÌýwith the first dose of pertussis vaccine scheduled at 8 weeks of age.Ìý

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General practice (GP) level pertussis vaccine coverage data is automatically uploaded via participating GP IT suppliers to theÌýÌýwebsite each month.ÌýImmFormÌýdata isÌývalidatedÌýandÌýanalysedÌýby the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to check data completeness,Ìýidentify, and query any anomalous data and describe epidemiological trends. Since April 2016 (implementation date varied by GP IT supplier) the following monthly data has been collected:Ìý

• denominator: number of women who delivered in the survey month, excluding miscarriages and stillbirths, regardless of gestational age
• numerator: number of women receiving pertussis vaccination between week 16 of pregnancy and delivery

ForÌýaccurateÌýdenominators to be extracted from GP IT systems by the automated survey and precise coverage estimates to be calculated, it is important that the medical records of all women who have given birth have the following fields completed:Ìý

• the date of delivery
• the date of receipt of a pertussis-containing vaccine at or after week 16 of pregnancy, regardless of the setting where the vaccine was administered
• where relevant, fieldsÌýindicatingÌýstillbirth or miscarriage

Participation and data qualityÌý

All GP IT suppliers provided data for the fourth quarter of the 2025 to 2026 financial year.ÌýNational GP practice participation was at 99.1% in January 2026, 98.9% in February 2026 and 98.8% in March 2026.Ìý

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Coverage in the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial yearÌý

For the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial year:Ìý

• coverage was 73.0% which was 7.4% percentage points higher than in the previousÌýfinancial year
• coverage was 73.0% in 2025 to 2026, compared with 65.6% in 2024 to 2025 and 58.6% in 2023 to 2024
• coverage by Commissioning Region varied by 15.1 percentage points, from 65.3% in London to 80.4% in theÌýSouth West
• coverage by Integrated Care Board (ICB) varied by 28.2 percentage points, from 56.0% in the Birmingham and Solihull ICB to 84.2% in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB
• coverage in the London Commissioning Region has gradually increased from 35.5% in September 2023 to 65.7% in March 2026

Data on coverage by Commissioning Region, ICB, Sub ICB and local authority is available in theÌýdata tablesÌýassociated with this report.

Table 1. Pertussis vaccination coverage (%) in pregnant women by Commissioning Region, in the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial yearÌý

Commissioning Region code	Commissioning Region name	Coverage (%)
Y56	London	65.3
Y58	South West	80.4
Y59	South East	78.7
Y60	Midlands	72.7
Y61	East of England	73.0
Y62	North West	70.4
Y63	North EastÌýand Yorkshire	74.3

Figure 1. Monthly pertussis vaccination coverage (%) in pregnant women from April 2016 to March 2026 [Note 2]Ìý

Note 2. Data from the smallest IT supplier was excluded between November to December 2019.Ìý

Figure 2. Monthly pertussis vaccination coverage (%) in pregnant women from April 2016 to March 2026 [Note 2]Ìý

Figure 3. Map of pertussis vaccination coverage (%) in pregnant women by local authority in England and London, in the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial yearÌý

Coverage by IMD DecileÌý

The main findings for coverage by IMD decile [Note 3] were that:Ìý

• coverage varied by 19.1 percentage points between IMD deciles
• coverage was 82.2% in the least deprived decile and 63.1% in the most deprived decile (Table 2)

Note 3. Coverage by IMD decile is calculated based on 2025 IMD deciles and GP ±è´Ç²õ³Ù³¦´Ç»å±ð.Ìý

Table 2. Pertussis vaccination coverage (%) in pregnant women by IMD decile, in the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial yearÌý

IMD Decile	Coverage (%)
1	63.1
2	67.7
3	71.8
4	73.6
5	75.4
6	77.6
7	77.9
8	79.7
9	80.6
10	82.2

Coverage by ethnicityÌý

The main findings for coverage by ethnicity were that:Ìý

• coverage varied by 39.4 percentage points between ethnic groups
• coverage was the highest in Other Ethnic Group Chinese (85.1%) and lowest in Black or Black British Caribbean (45.7%) (Table 3)

Table 3. Pertussis vaccination coverage (%) in pregnant women by ethnicity, in the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial yearÌý

Ethnicity	Coverage (%)
Asian or Asian British any other Asian Background	73.7
Asian or Asian British Bangladeshi	68.6
Asian or Asian British Indian	80.2
AsianÌýorÌýAsian British Pakistani	58.8
Black or Black British African	61.8
Black or Black British any other Black Background	56.6
Black or Black British Caribbean	45.7
Mixed any other Mixed Background	65.8
Mixed WhiteÌýAndÌýBlack African	65.8
Mixed White Asian	72.2
Mixed White Black Caribbean	55.6
Not Stated	68.7
Other Ethnic Group any other Ethnic Group	60.2
Other Ethnic Group Chinese	85.1
Patients with any other	74.5
White any other Background	60.4
White British	79.4
White Irish	73.2
Ìý	Ìý

Coverage in quarter 4 of the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial yearÌý

For quarter 4 of the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial year:Ìý

• coverage was 74.0% which was 2.7 percentage points higher than quarter 4 coverage in the previousÌýfinancial year
• coverage was 74.3% in January 2026, 73.9% in February 2026 and 73.9% in March 2026
• coverage by Commissioning Region varied by 16.0 percentage points, from 66.1% in London to 82.2% in theÌýSouth West
• coverage by Integrated Care Board (ICB) varied by 28.4 percentage points, from 57.2% in the Birmingham and Solihull ICB to 85.5% in the Shropshire,ÌýTelfordÌýand Wrekin ICB

Table 4. Pertussis vaccination coverage (%) in pregnant women by Commissioning Region, in quarter 4 of the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial yearÌý

Commissioning Region code	Commissioning Region name	Coverage in January 2026	Coverage in February 2026 (%)	Coverage in March 2026 (%)	Coverage in Quarter 2026 (%)
Y56	London	67.0	65.7	65.7	66.1
Y58	South West	81.8	81.7	82.9	82.2
Y59	South East	80.0	79.0	80.3	79.8
Y60	Midlands	73.3	73.6	73.0	73.3
Y61	East ofÌýEngland	74.8	74.4	73.5	74.2
Y62	North West	72.4	72.3	71.7	72.1
Y63	North EastÌýand Yorkshire	75.1	74.9	74.3	74.8

DiscussionÌý

This annual report for the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial yearÌýevaluates pertussis vaccine coverage for women who delivered during the 2025 to 2026Ìýfinancial yearÌýand the fourth quarter of theÌýfinancial yearÌýfrom January 2026 to March 2026. Annual coverage was 73.0%ÌýwhichÌýwas 7.4% percentage points higher than in the previousÌýfinancial year. Annual coverage by Commissioning Region varied by 15.1 percentage points. During the fourth quarter, monthly prenatal pertussis vaccine coverage was 74.3% in January 2026, 73.9% in February 2026 and 73.9% in March 2026. Coverage was lowest in the London Commissioning Region,ÌýalthoughÌýhas increased by 25.7 percentage points since April 2024.Ìý

A new point of care app developed by NHSE to record vaccination events was introduced in September 2024. The Record a Vaccination service (RAVs) has improved dataflows into general practice which may partially account for the increase in coverage reported in recent months.Ìý

Limitations to the data presented in this report may explain some of the observed variability in coverage at the local level and over time. First, completeness of data is reliant on the recording of delivery dates in the mother’s medical records and aÌýÌýin England suggests that maternity notesÌýregardingÌýpregnancy and delivery are often scanned or archived, rather than coded in an extractable format. Furthermore, a comparison of these denominator data withÌýÌýindicatesÌýthat in 2022, this data represented about 73% of the population of pregnant women.Ìý

Continued support in the delivery of this importantÌýprogrammeÌýhas beenÌýsoughtÌýfrom service providers (GP practices and maternity units), Screening and Immunisation Teams, and Health Protection Teams. Screening and Immunisation Teams should continue to update service providers on the current epidemiology of the disease and the need toÌýmaintainÌýand improve coverage achieved thus far.Ìý

If coverage, andÌýultimately theÌýimpact of theÌýprogrammeÌýitself, is to be accuratelyÌýmonitored, GPs and practice nurses must continue to ensure that vaccination and date of delivery are recorded in the patient’s GP record. In areas that have commissioned maternity units to offer pertussis vaccines in pregnancy, providers must ensure doses of vaccines given to individual women are also communicated to the woman’s GP, where these are not captured in automated systems. Maternity units not offering pertussisÌývaccines to pregnant women should continue to discuss its importance, make use ofÌýavailable resources, and signpost the woman to her GP to receive the vaccine. GPs, practice nurses, obstetricians, and midwives should continue to encourage pregnant women to receive the pertussis vaccine, ideally,Ìýbetween weeks 20 and 32 of their pregnancyÌý(but up to term) toÌýoptimiseÌýprotection for their babies from birth.