The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has issued new guidelines recommending that welfare regions offer a booster dose of the whooping cough vaccine to pregnant women. This move aims to protect newborns from severe cases of whooping cough, particularly in light of a significant increase in cases reported this year.
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, poses a serious risk to infants under one year of age, especially newborns who have not yet received their first vaccine dose at three months old.