Expectant parents and the parents of newborns will receive a free whooping cough vaccine from June 1.
The reintroduction of the free vaccine was announced by Health Minister Jill Hennessy last Friday, the first day of world immunisation week.
The program will cost the government $8.4 million over four years, making the vaccine available to all pregnant women from 28 weeks’ gestation, as well as their partners.
Parents and guardians of newborn babies under six months old will also be eligible for the vaccine.
There have been 35 cases of whooping cough reported in Wyndham so far this year. Eight of the cases affected children under the age of four, while six children aged five to nine were affected.
The disease, which is also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory infection. It affects air passages and breathing, causing severe coughing spasms and potentially leading to hemorrhages, convulsions, pneumonia, encephalitis and even death.
One in every 200 babies who contracts the infection dies.
Last year, 105 cases of whooping cough were reported in Wyndham, up from 76 in 2013. Across the state, there was a 58 per cent jump in cases from 2926 in 2013 to 4615 in 2014.
The free vaccination will be available from GPs, maternity hospitals, obstetricians and councils.
