A nationwide study of all pregnant women who delivered between 2013 and 2020 found suboptimal maternal immunisation coverage, with significant spatio-temporal variation and clustering in coverage. The study determined receipt of the influenza or pertussis vaccine using any one of three relevant national databases (National Immunisation Register, Proclaims, Pharmaceutical collection) during the eligible pregnancy. Maximal maternal immunisation coverage was around 50% in the best performing regions, meaning approximately 183,737 pregnant women were not protected. The authors noted that their study was one of the first to examine spatial variation in maternal immunisation coverage in pregnant women at a national level over space and time, and provides tools to measure the impact of interventions aimed at improving immunisation coverage.
