HIGH school students may be missing out on potentially life saving vaccinations because their parents don’t know their child is eligible for free jabs, a health expert says.
PARENTS of 12 and 13-year-olds are being urged to check their child’s school bag for the vaccination consent form.
The reminder follows a survey of 200 parents that shows over a third did not know free vaccinations were offered in high school. And even when parents are aware of the vaccination program, one in 10 still doesn’t know he/she needs to sign a consent form. The vaccines are chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and the human papillomavirus virus vaccine, which protects against several cancers and genital infections. “Parents need to be on the lookout because the consent form is usually sent home in the first few weeks of the school year,” said Associate Professor Rachel Skinner, a clinical academic at Sydney University’s school of pediatrics and child health. “The national school-based immunisation program, which is offered to Year 7 students or Year 8 depending on the state, is just as important as the childhood vaccination schedule.” Dr Skinner said if parents haven’t received any information by now they should contact the school. “The infections that these vaccines prevent are potentially life threatening,” said Dr Skinner. “It’s really important not only for their own protection but it’s important we keep these diseases at bay in the community. “If the vaccination rates drop, or people delay the vaccinations, there is the opportunity for epidemics, and when that occurs that’s when the vulnerable can catch these diseases.”