Vaccination during pregnancy 2024/2025
Report
|Published
All pregnant women in Norway are recommended to receive two vaccines during pregnancy: the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine and the seasonal influenza vaccine. The findings of this report demonstrate that while pertussis vaccination uptake among pregnant women is high, there is a need for interventions to improve the influenza vaccine uptake.
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Summary
Since May 2024, all pregnant women in Norway have been offered pertussis vaccination in week 24 of each pregnancy. The service is organized as part of the childhood immunization program and is free of charge for pregnant women. Vaccination during pregnancy aims to protect the infant by transplacental transfer of maternal antibodies following vaccinations. This ensures protection against pertussis during the vulnerable period from birth until the child receives their own vaccinations.
To ensure that the offer reaches all pregnant women, regardless of where they receive antenatal care, a broad effort was made to train healthcare personnel who provide antenatal care but have not previously participated in the childhood immunization program. In addition, midwives were granted the authority to prescribe and administer the vaccine.
The seasonal influenza vaccine has been recommended for pregnant women since 2009. The recommendation applies to all pregnant women in the second and third trimester during the autumn/winter season. In addition, pregnant women in the first trimester with other risk factors are advised to receive the vaccine. This offer forms part of the adult immunization program (formerly the influenza vaccination program), with a co-payment from all, including pregnant women.
With the introduction of the maternal pertussis vaccine, a surveillance program has been established to monitor vaccine uptake. This report presents coverage for pertussis vaccination during the first 12 months after introduction, from May 2024 through April 2025. Of the 71,286 women who gave birth and were in the target group for vaccination (in gestational week 22 or later of the first program year), 51,962 (73%) received the pertussis vaccine. Most of these vaccinations were administered in week 24, in line with the main recommendation. Vaccine administrations later in pregnancy illustrates a continuous effort to inform and offer the vaccine to unvaccinated women throughout pregnancy
The report also presents influenza vaccination coverage during the 2024/25 season, from October 2024 to May 2025. Of the 54,851 pregnant women (from week 14 onwards) who were in the target group for influenza vaccination during this period, 18,345 (33%) received the vaccine. Influenza vaccination mainly occurs in October and November. The number of vaccinations declined sharply from January, indicating the need for continuous efforts to inform pregnant women and provide the vaccine in the last months of the influenza season.