A young Melbourne doctor and his best mate wanted to find a way to convince kids about the importance of vaccination.

No mean feat considering it involves a sharp needle.

Rebecca Amadei, centre, and her young class play a hand. Credit:Holly Curtis

The solution: Make vaccination not just herd-immunity-cool, but playground-cool. And they are going to do it through a deck of grotesque, cartoonish trading cards.

Schistosomiasis itches his purple body and compulsively lays eggs. Pertussis coughs from every orifice. Tetanus's face is locked in a permanent snarl – he's suffering from lockjaw.