Respiratory pathogens are amongst the world's most successful killers. Tuberculosis kills approximately 2 million individuals each year, and pertussis is responsible for roughly 300,000 annual deaths. Although the two diseases are fundamentally different in the expression of their pathogenesis and in the biology of their causative agents, a common heterologous prime/boost vaccination strategy is proposed, using live attenuated vaccines against tuberculosis (the already existing BCG) and pertussis (a novel attenuated Bordetella pertussis strain) early in life for priming, followed by a booster with acellular vaccines, based on the novel heparin-binding haemagglutinin for tuberculosis, and already available acellular vaccines against pertussis.