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

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 against whooping cough (pertussis), with studies suggesting immunisation levels are "concerningly low".

Australia is in the grips of an unprecedented outbreak of whooping cough, an infection that can be life-threatening for babies and young children.

Authorities have been notified of 80,000 cases in the past two years, an all-ti

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