Whooping cough can be deadly for infants and can also cause serious complications in adults. Photo: April Fonti/AAP PHOTOS

Hospitals are sleeping on an opportunity to vaccinate more Australians against whooping cough, a disease that's infecting the population at record rates.

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A probe from the Immunisation Foundation of Australia finds few hospitals are stocking a whooping cough-containing booster to jab patients with tetanus-prone wounds.

That's despite health guidelines recommending emergency departments use the combined vaccine in routine wound management to help boost protection

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