Almost 6000 children previously listed as conscientious objectors have been immunised since the government introduced its “no jab, no pay” policy, the Australian Medical Association says, as it turns its attention to wealthier Australians failing to vaccinate their babies.
Launching a new booklet on the science of vaccination in Canberra yesterday, AMA chief Michael Gannon said that while immunisation rates were up generally in Australia, some areas still had rates as low as 86 per cent, including the Gold Coast, western Sydney and the NSW north coast.
“These lower rates are unlikely to afford the individual or the community with protection from outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease,” he said, adding that between 90 to 95 per cent of people in a community needed to be vaccinated to protect “the herd” from disease.
“Vaccines are safe. Vaccines save lives.”
Dr Gannon pointed to a drop in immunisation rates in some wealthier areas, where the so-called anti-vaxxer movement was having a detrimental effect on immunity.
“Of course, ‘no jab, no pay’ might have a minimal effect on families in wealthier parts of Australia, and some of these areas have very low immunisation rates, so we must think about measures that will increase immunisations in these areas as well,” he said.
Health Minister Sussan Ley said that the national immunisation rate was above 90 per cent, up from 53 per cent in the late 1980s.
Since the government linked welfare payments to child vaccination, more than 148,000 children who had fallen behind the schedule had been brought up to date with their vaccine schedule and 6000 children who were listed as conscientious objectors had been vaccinated.
“Despite our success, we must remain vigilant,” Ms Ley said.
“In some ways the hesitancy of some people to vaccinate their children is a legacy of the success of our vaccination programs — they don’t have a point of reference for assessing the risks of vaccinations because they haven’t seen first-hand the terrible impacts of preventable diseases.”
Labor MP Mike Freelander, who previously worked as a pediatrician, said doctors had seen children “die in front of your eyes” as a result of preventable disease and praised as “remarkable” the progress made on vaccination rates since the 1990s.
Nobel prize winner Peter Doherty said he was concerned that the issue had been hijacked by celebrity anti-vaxxers, who were disregarding the views of experts.
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