DOCTORS have demanded the introduction of ‘no jab, no play’ reforms in Queensland to give childcare centres the power to ban unvaccinated children.
Australian Medical Association President Dr Steve Hambleton said the introduction of the measures in NSW had clearly had a positive impact and should be introduced as a measure to lift vaccinate rates.
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IAN FRAZER: Rejecting vaccine playing with fire
“Recent analysis has looked into areas that had poor vaccination rates and prior to the ‘no jab, no play’ campaign it was below the threshold for herd immunity and after this campaign it was above,’’ Dr Hambleton said.
“That is the difference between measles going wild and not going wild.’’
Federal Health Minister Peter Dutton said the NSW model was one that all governments could emulate.
“The NSW Government has shown the way to all Australian Governments in driving up immunisation through its new immunisation requirements for entry to child care,’’ he said.
Queensland Opposition health spokeswoman Jo-Ann Miller said Labor had tried to legislate state ‘no jab, no play’ reforms this year and remained committed to the reform.
“We saw this as a measure to protect children as well as staff at child care facilities and other centres,’’ she said.
The Parenthood executive director Fiona Sugden said the parents’ group was strongly in support of no jab, no play and also wanted to see vaccine refusers denied Family Tax Benefit Part A.
“Our parents are sick of seeing people that choose not to vaccinate financially rewarded with taxpayer dollars,’’ she said.
AMA Queensland President-Elect Dr Shaun Rudd has also called for measures to boost the immunisation rates of parents and grandparents with a newborn in the family.
“Having Government support for these things can certainly improve and increase the uptake, and that would be a good thing,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, children in Queensland’s tourist meccas are at the highest risk in the state of contracting lethal preventable diseases because of the high number of parents there failing to vaccinate.
Almost 2000 cases of measles and whooping cough have been reported on the Gold and Sunshine coasts in the past two years, where immunisation rates have dropped to a dangerous level of 88 per cent, state and federal health data has revealed.
The nation’s health ministers – who meet today in Brisbane – are under pressure to act and introduce measures to reduce the number of “conscientious objectors” who refuse to have their children immunised.
Experts say Queensland childcare centres should also be given the power to ban unvaccinated children – a measure which has already been introduced in NSW – and measures introduced to boost immunisation rates for parents of newborns.
The State Government is currently working on an immunisation strategy which will set a new target rate of 95 per cent.
The Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast will face a substantial immunisation challenge to reach that target, with the rates in those areas well below the levels required for ‘herd immunity’.
Queensland immunologist and inventor of the cervical cancer vaccine, Professor Ian Frazer, said vaccination rates needed to be at 95 per cent for the benefit of the whole community.
“The vaccination rates in these regions are not strong enough to prevent an epidemic of measles going through,’’ he said.
State Health Minister Lawrence Springborg has put the issue of ‘vaccine refusers’ on the agenda for today’s meeting following concerns the ‘conscientious objection’ term is being “abused and misused’’.
His federal counterpart Peter Dutton has indicated he will raise the withdrawal of Family Tax Benefit A as an option.
Mr Springborg said Queensland had a good statewide rate of vaccination at around 91 per cent, but he wanted to do better.
“I remember my parents telling me stories of children, their friends, basically being left permanently maimed by vaccine-preventable illnesses before they had vaccinations, polio, diphtheria, whooping cough,’’ he said.
Queensland Health Communicable Diseases Unit senior director Dr Sonya Bennett encouraged parents to ensure their children’s vaccinations were up to date.
“Parents who do not vaccinate are taking a gamble that their child won’t be exposed to the diseases we still have circulating.’’
VACCINATION MYTHS & REALITIES
‘Vaccines are unsafe’
In general, no pharmacologic agent, including vaccines, can be considered 100 per cent safe. However, all vaccines currently available in Australia must pass stringent safety testing before being approved for use by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. This testing is required by law and is usually done over many years during the vaccine’s development. In addition, the safety of vaccines is continually monitored once they are in use, by the TGA and other organisations.
‘Vaccines contain toxic additives’
All vaccines marketed in Australia are assessed by the TGA to ensure they meet strict safety guidelines prior to being registered for use. This includes stringent testing for all vaccine components, including adjuvants, preservatives, additives and any manufacturing residuals. Adjuvants, most commonly aluminium salts (known as alum), are added to some vaccines to enhance the immune response to the vaccine. Aluminium intake from vaccines is lower than everyday intake from diet or medications, such as antacids, and is well below the levels recommended by organisations
‘Vaccines weaken or overwhelm the immune system’
Healthy people have the capacity to mount a response to every infection they could possibly encounter. Vaccines do not weaken the immune system but strengthen it by stimulating defence mechanisms that provide protection against specific diseases.
‘Improved living standards, not vaccination, have reduced infectious diseases’
While overall improvements in living standards, healthcare and treatment have reduced deaths from all diseases, the additional impact of vaccines themselves is illustrated by the near disappearance of deaths from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and measles. Such a dramatic decline in deaths after vaccine introduction, often in short periods of time, could not possibly be attributed to improvements in living conditions or medical treatment alone.
‘Diseases are virtually eliminated so vaccination is not needed’
Although the majority of people in Australia have been fully vaccinated, resulting in a marked reduction in targeted diseases, it is now important that vaccination rates be kept as high as possible. One important reason to maintain high vaccination rates in Australia is to protect the wider community, particularly vulnerable people with medical problems that mean they cannot be vaccinated themselves. For herd immunity to be effective, vaccination rates among the population have to be high.
Source: Courier Mail