Pregnant women, parents and other carers of infants will get access to a free whooping cough vaccine from June 1, as the state government steps up efforts to protect people from the potentially fatal disease.
New figures show whooping cough – a highly contagious infection that kills one in 200 babies who get it – has taken off in Victoria over the last year.
Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy said nearly 3000 people caught whooping cough (pertussis) in Victoria last year – a 58 per cent surge on the previous year. Infections among children aged less than one year increased from 74 in 2013 to 115 in 2014.
As of April 7 this year, the number of cases across all ages was 1625 compared with 849 at the same time last year.
Ms Hennessy said under the government's $8.4 million program, the free whooping cough vaccine would be available through immunisation providers such as GPs, maternity hospitals, obstetricians and local councils from June.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It is spread by airborne droplets from the upper respiratory tract when the infected person coughs or sneezes. Immunisation is the best way to reduce the risk of infection. Serious side effects or allergic reactions to the vaccine are rare.
Ms Hennessy said pregnant women would be eligible for the free vaccine during every pregnancy, along with all other parents who have not received a whooping cough vaccine booster dose in the past 10 years. All parents and guardians of newborn babies under six months of age and those born after June 1 can also get it free.
Ms Hennessy said the eligibility criteria was based on international evidence showing the whooping cough vaccine is safe and effective for pregnant women in the third trimester.
"The Andrews Labor government is bringing back the free vaccination program for mums and dads to protect our youngest Victorians from this deadly disease," she said.
