A policy should be introduced that each baby and mother should be vaccinated with the whooping cough vaccination before they send their child to creche/child care as it is a highly contagious illness. The vaccination does not make the baby become immune but it is the most effective way to prevent it. This would be beneficial to the community as whooping cough has recently become a major issue in Australia and the incidence rates are increasing. The graph below shows that whooping cough is most common in babies under the age of 6 months and the vaccination is available for children who are minimum age of two months. This gives the mother plenty of time to get the vaccination for the child so they can prevent catching whooping
