Imagine a world where diseases we thought were under control start making a comeback. That's the alarming reality Australia is facing right now. A shocking decline in childhood vaccination rates has triggered a record-high surge in whooping cough cases, leaving experts deeply concerned.
Here’s the startling truth: whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, has reached its highest levels in 35 years. According to a recent Productivity Commission report, cases soared to nearly 800 per 100,000 Australian children in 2024-25. To put that in perspective, the average rate before the pandemic (2015-16 to 2018-19) was just 183.5 per 100,000. But here's where it gets even more alarming: in 2024 alone, the Australian Centre for Disease Control confirmed a staggering 57,257 cases, with 37,663 affecting infants and children up to 14 years old. This marks the highest yearly total since records began in 1991.
New South Wales and Queensland bore the brunt, with nearly 26,000 and over 15,000 cases, respectively. And the trend didn’t stop there—another 25,272 cases were confirmed in 2025. Whooping cough isn’t just a nuisance; it’s a potentially fatal infection that can cause severe, prolonged coughing fits lasting months. Early symptoms, like a runny nose, sneezing, and a mild dry cough, can easily be mistaken for a common cold. But after two weeks, the infection can worsen dramatically, leading to exhausting coughing episodes.
So, what’s behind this surge? And this is the part most people miss: the COVID-19 pandemic played a significant role. Lockdowns and social distancing measures, while necessary, inadvertently reduced exposure to the bacteria, weakening the immune systems of vaccinated children who didn’t receive their usual immune boosts. As Archana Koirala, a paediatrician and infectious diseases specialist, explains, 'Immunised children didn’t get exposed to that usual kind of circulation … and so they didn’t get that immune boost.'
But that’s not all. Vaccination rates across Australia have dropped, leaving many children without timely immunisations. 'That's like a perfect storm for an outbreak,' Dr. Koirala warns. Routine childhood immunisations, which protect against diseases like hepatitis B, diphtheria, polio, measles, and influenza, are administered from birth to age four. Yet, in September last year, vaccination rates for one, two, and five-year-olds fell below the national target of 95%, hitting decade-lows.
Here’s the controversial part: some argue that vaccine hesitancy, fueled by misinformation on social media, is a major culprit. Catherine Hughes, co-founder of the Immunisation Foundation of Australia, knows this pain all too well. Her son Riley died from whooping cough at just 32 days old. 'To know that these rates are the worst they’ve been in 10 years for childhood immunisation, it’s not great news,' she says. Hughes blames the rise of 'anti-vaccine propaganda' on social media, which she believes has become a breeding ground for misinformation.
Dr. Paul Griffin, director of infectious diseases at Mater Health Services, agrees. 'It is potentially catastrophic,' he warns. 'If we don’t act, we’ll see a resurgence of diseases we thought were under control.' And it’s not just whooping cough—measles cases are also on the rise, with 181 confirmed in 2025, up from 57 the previous year. Australia, once a global leader in measles elimination, now faces the risk of large outbreaks if vaccination rates don’t rebound.
So, here’s the question: Is social media doing enough to combat misinformation? Or are we heading toward a public health crisis? Let’s start the conversation. What do you think? Are we doing enough to protect our children, or is misinformation winning the battle? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
