“Our hearts go out to the family who have lost their child to this highly infectious disease.”
Reid said it is one death too many and the first recorded since the national epidemic was declared on November 22.
“It’s incredibly important that people look out for symptoms of whooping cough and urge any pregnant people and pēpi [babies] to get immunised.”
Since the onset of the epidemic (from October 19, 2024 to January 10, 2025), 1,232 cases have been notified with 101 cases hospitalised.
Three infants also died from whooping cough in 2023.
“Whooping cough is highly contagious and can cause serious harm to pēpi, especially those aged under 6 weeks old, who are too young to be vaccinated,” Reid said.
“Parents or caregivers should seek medical advice for their tamariki [children] if they have a cough that ends with a ‘whoop’ sound or vomiting.”
Whooping cough in infants is unpredictable and can get worse very quickly, Reid said.
“The best protection for you and your whānau against whooping cough is to get vaccinated – particularly pregnant people, pēpi, tamariki and older adults who are at higher risk.”
The whooping cough pregnancy vaccine is free and is best given from 16 weeks of pregnancy. The vaccine should also be given with each pregnancy to protect each baby, Reid said.
Childhood vaccinations to protect against whooping cough are needed at ages 6 weeks, 3 months and 5 months, and again at 4 years. A further booster is given at 11 years.
Adults are eligible for one free booster from age 45 (if they have not had four previous tetanus doses) and can also get one free from age 65, Reid said.
Parents should seek urgent medical advice if their infant:
- Stops breathing
- Goes blue with coughing
- Appears to have a cold, then cough, and have difficulty breathing
- Gets exhausted from coughing
- Is not able to feed properly because of coughing and difficulty breathing
- Loses weight because of difficulty feeding and because the cough causes them to vomit (be sick).
