Would you put your child in danger of disease?
On January 1 2014, a new law came into being that aims to ensure the health of our children in child care. Under the "no jab, no play" law, all children must be vaccinated for all the major disease as set out by the Immunisation Register before they can be enrolled into child care. Childcare centre operators can also face fines of up to $4000 for not keeping immunisation records up to date.
This has been policy in schools for several years, but from this school year, children who have not been vaccinated cannot be enrolled in any registered child care unless their parents lodge documents claiming they object on philosophical or moral grounds or giving medical reasons for their failure to immunise. Parents can however provide documents that prove their child is on a catch-up schedule if not already fully immunised.
But thousands of parents seem to be flouting this law by using the conscientious objector loophole to get them out of getting their children vaccinated. The conscientious objector numbers are higher than ever, increasing per capita as the population increases.
They currently represent 1.64% of children. Last year 36,320 children were registered with an objection, but it's estimated that over 80000 Australian children are not up to date with their immunisations.
In order to register as a conscientious objector, the required document must be signed by a GP or medical practitioner and doctors will only sign after explaining to parents the benefits and risks of immunising their children against vaccine-preventable diseases.
Major diseases are still very serious for young children. Not just for the actual disease itself, but also for the other side effects and secondary diseases and conditions that illnesses such as Mumps, Measles and Chickenpox can lead to.
So what is the issue? Cost? Surely you can't put a price on the health of your child and everyone else's for that matter? Religion? There are now very few religions that do not recognise the social benefits and medical necessity of vaccinations. Fear? Long-term adverse effects to vaccinations are extremely rare. The MMR scare was proved to be just that. Nothing but scare mongering. It has absolutely no scientific evidence to back it up. Ignorance? Really there is very little reason to be ignorant of the benefits of vaccinations these days. You can pick up a leaflet from any medical centre and talk to your GP if you have any questions.
Most objectors are actually objecting on the basis that they don't want their children to receive "unnecessary" medication and believe that by taking a holistic approach to medicine they can boost their children's immune system enough to combat these serious diseases…Naturally boosting your children's immune system to beat off general bugs and germs is one thing. Relying on homeopathic medicine and vitamins to stave off Mumps is quite another.
The fact is that vaccinations have been developed to keep us all healthy. They have all but wiped out major child-killing diseases from our developed society, but they can only be effective if almost everyone is vaccinated.
They not only protect our own children, they protect other people's children as well, including babies and unborn children – because of course pregnant women can also be highly susceptible to contagious diseases.
It's no wonder then that some parents are refusing to send their children to child care centres that have children of conscientious objecting parents enrolled. Wanting to protect not just their children who attend the child care centre, but their children at home as well.
According to an article published last year in the Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney's west has an immunisation rate of 90 per cent for five-year-olds, but last financial year was home to 3600 children who were not fully immunised. In wealthy Manly, Mosman and eastern Sydney, fewer than 85 per cent of children are immunised in some age groups. The figures are contained in a National Health Performance Authority report.
The World Health Organisation says immunisation rates for measles must be above 93 per cent to prevent its spread. Julie Leask of the University of Sydney said: "I think what these figures say is… you can't rely on herd immunity in your region".
In Australia vaccination is not compulsory however, but some Government payments, such as Family Tax Benefit Part A supplement, Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate, can only be paid for children who have been immunised or have an approved immunisation exemption.
Detailed information on current immunisation programs and information on the vaccines is available from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing website and from your local GP.
To meet the immunisation requirements you need to have your children immunised in the financial year that each child turns one, two and five years old. You can check the schedule here.
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