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Mother Crusades For More Vaccinations

Mother Crusades For More Vaccinations
Mother Crusades For More Vaccinations

Riley Hughes. Photo: Light For Riley Facebook

The mother of a four-week-old baby who died of whooping cough is leading the charge for vaccine awareness around Australia.

Catherine Hughes and her husband Greg, whose infant son Riley Hughes died last Tuesday have started a Facebook page – Light For Riley - through which the Perth couple are championing free whooping cough booster vaccinations for pregnant mothers and newborn babies.

Already, their campaign has led to change in several states. Last week, the department of health services in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland announced a free whooping cough vaccine and/or booster for expectant mums and dads as a result of baby Riley's death. Western Australia has also just announced that a new vaccination program for women in the third trimester of their pregnancy will be implemented over the next fortnight, with funds allocated from the state budget.

Currently, immunisation for whooping cough in Australia happens at around six to eight weeks after the baby’s birth, with booster shots following at four and six months. In NSW, the first round of vaccinations starts at six weeks. In Western Australia – where the Hughes are based – it begins at eight weeks. Baby Riley was only four weeks old when he died from whooping cough.

The move towards vaccinating expectant mothers and fathers is in line with international whooping cough research, which shows that booster vaccines in the third trimester of pregnancy can give immunity to newborn babies until they receive their own vaccination at six to eight weeks of age.

Twelve babies have died after contracting whooping cough in the past six years. Medical experts believe that a whooping cough epidemic is imminent for Australia, with the number of cases up 300 per cent since 2014, the Daily Telegraph reports.


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