"It's less than 2 per cent of children that are not immunised because their parents are deliberate vaccine refusers," she says. Many note the importance of improving Australia's immunisation rates, but some, including Ms Plibersek, say banning children from school unfairly penalises them for decisions made by their parents. Because non-vaccination is considered a health threat to others, they argue that reducing the risk of disease is more important than an intrusion upon personal liberty. Some have further suggested that unvaccinated children be banned from school altogether. Parents with medical, religious or philosophical objections will require approval from a doctor. In NSW – which has an overall immunisation rate of 92 per cent – a law was recently passed banning unvaccinated children from childcare centres from January 2014. The scientific case for vaccination is believed to be solid by many experts, who say the spread of anti-immunisation messages is dangerous and should be quashed. How should the immunisation issue be dealt with? Side effects such as swelling, redness and soreness at the injection site commonly exist, but severe reactions are rare. Still others have been persuaded by "conspiracy theories" propounded by anti-immunisation groups.Īlthough some hold fears about vaccine safety and effectiveness, and assert that the unknown side effects outweigh the risk of catching the disease, some experts say misconceptions about immunisation abound and that the risk of complications relating to diseases such as measles is far greater than the risk of an immunisation reaction. A small minority refuse to immunise based on religious, philosophical or medical grounds, and another small percentage of "wealthy, educated" parents are sceptical about the science of immunisation and mistrust a perceived profit-driven alliance between governments and pharmaceutical companies. Why are some children not being vaccinated?Īccording to Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek, in the cases of those whose children have not been immunised, the families or carers of the vast majority have simply forgotten to complete the schedule or have allowed personal circumstances – such as overseas holidays – to interfere. For example, in Perth only 72 per cent of one-year-old indigenous children are fully vaccinated. According to the study, Western Australia has lower vaccination rates than other states, and for indigenous Australians the figures are worse. He said it was no coincidence that occurrences of measles had arisen in northern NSW and south-eastern Queensland. It is expected that fewer people from poorer areas are vaccinated, but AMA president Dr Steve Hambleton said the data "perversely" indicated a reduction in vaccination rates in wealthier suburbs and nominated several areas as being at risk of outbreaks. According to the Australian Medical Association, communities with less than 93 per cent immunisation coverage are considered unsafe. It found numerous areas where the rates were less than 85 per cent in at least one age group. The study measured the percentage of children who were considered fully immunised at the ages of one, two, three and five years. In addition to the UNICEF study, research from the National Health Performance Authority (NHPA) concludes that 77,000 Australian children are not fully immunised. Mass immunisation has resulted in the near-eradication of some diseases for example, polio. The basic rationale is that by immunising entire communities, individuals within those communities are protected. In Australia these include hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), measles, mumps, rubella (German measles), polio, varicella (chickenpox), pneumococcus and haemophilus influenza type b (a leading cause of spinal meningitis). Nowadays, children are routinely given a series of vaccinations from birth. This "controlled" exposure to "immunogens" teaches the body to protect itself against potential future contact with particular diseases.īefore the existence of vaccines, the only way people became immune to a disease was by contracting it and managing to survive. An immune response is triggered by the injection of a vaccine – a biological preparation containing a dead or weakened form of pathogen or virus. Sometimes called one of the "10 great public health achievements of the 20th century", immunisation is the process by which a person's natural immune system is strengthened against disease and infection. Bill Gates speaking at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation conference in London.
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