Cost-effectiveness and programmatic benefits of maternal vaccination against pertussis in England

Maternal vaccination is effective in preventing severe illness and deaths in infants but the cost-effectiveness of the programme is highly dependent on future incidence which is necessarily uncertain. However, the duration and magnitude of protection against transmission afforded by the current acellular vaccines is also uncertain as are the associated effects on future herd immunity. The direct protection offered by the maternal dose provides the only certain way of protecting vulnerable infants from birth.