Page 909 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 22 March 2017
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vaccination objection is not a valid objection in Queensland and Victoria. But, sadly, Queensland and Victoria are so far the exception rather than the rule.
New South Wales has a bizarre piece of legislation in place which includes parental objection as an available objection. It is irresponsible government policy that flies in the face of history, effectiveness, achievements, sensibility, and the commonwealth policy. All other states and territories are silent on the question of no jab no play. I note that the minister spoke about the current legislation but as it comes into effect it is not very proactive. It does not encourage early intervention, and it could be characterised as closing the door after the horse has bolted.
Giving the Chief Health Officer power to exclude children after there has been an outbreak is only marginally useful given that, for instance, the incubation period for some of these diseases is up to a week before any symptoms occur. Many of the unimmunised children who come into contact with someone with a disease are at risk of catching the disease before anyone notices. That is a most important issue, which is why the no jab no play process is important.
I take the point the minister has made about the risks for vulnerable groups within the community that they might be further excluded, and I concur with the points she has made that this should not be a punitive process aimed at excluding people from educational opportunities but, rather, an opportunity to educate people as to why it is important that they and their children are vaccinated. We should also be using the opportunities around vaccination to educate parents not just about why it is important that their children are vaccinated but why there should be an ongoing program of vaccination into adult life.
As a recently-minted grandparent, I had to go out and have my pertussis injections, along with everybody else in the family. As a family where we have people with chronic illnesses, we are quite switched on to the exigencies of immunisation and vaccination and we make sure we get our flu injections every year. We probably need to make this process one which is designed around informing people so that we get a better outcome. I agree with the minister: it should not be about punishing people, but informing them.
The number of people who conscientiously object to vaccination is very small. There are a number of people in the community who, for various reasons—life is busy, life is chaotic—may miss these opportunities, and we need to take this opportunity to ensure that they have every chance to get themselves and their children fully immunised for the long-term health and benefit of the entire community.
I think we need to be a little careful not to be too smug. I notice that the tone of much of what the minister said is, “We’ve got the highest rates in the nation.” We have the highest rates in the nation in some cohorts, but it is still not enough to ensure herd immunity, especially for measles, where the herd immunity requirement is above 95 per cent. We just cannot sit here and blow our own trumpets and say, “We’ve got the highest rates in the country and therefore we don’t need to do anything about it.”
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