ABSTRACT
Pertussis is a serious and potentially fatal disease in infants too young for vaccination.A survey of obstetricians/gynecologists found that almost 50% were unaware of the recommendation,
suggesting poor uptake of maternal vaccination.To understand barriers to maternal immunization and identify
strategies to improve maternal immunization, we conducted an online survey in November and
December 2020, asking 60 obstetricians/gynecologists about their attitudes to maternal pertussis
immunization.Strategies to improve maternal immunization rates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia need to include
education of obstetricians/gynecologists, mothers, and the general public about the disease, how it
can be prevented, and the benefits and risk of vaccinating versus not vaccinatingIn June 2019, the Saudi Ministry of Health recommended
maternal pertussis immunization with combined tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis vaccine
(Tdap) during every pregnancy.Despite
a high vaccine coverage in children, pertussis continues to occur in unvaccinated infants in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).Vaccine availability and supply were important barriers, whereas cost/reimbursement
and resource issues were of lesser concern.????What is new???