Fears over rise in no-jab kids
Almost one in 50 WA children aged under seven is not immunised, as more parents become vaccine-refusers.
A record 351 new children were registered with Medicare in the June quarter by WA parents with a conscientious objection to vaccination.
Frustrated doctors say they cannot understand why parents are shunning safe vaccines that prevent dangerous diseases such as measles, at the same time as scientists desperately try to find a vaccine to beat the deadly Ebola virus.
Australian Childhood Immunisation Register figures for the June quarter show 4618 WA children registered by parents who are conscientious objectors, or 1.93 per cent of the 239,216 children under seven in the State, up from 1.79 per cent in the March quarter.
It is the biggest quarterly rise in the State since the register started publishing State data in 2012.
WA has the lowest figures of all States for children aged two and five, with 89.7 of five-year-olds vaccinated, making it the only State falling below the 90 per cent benchmark to achieve herd immunity.
The WA Health Department said the rise in conscientious objectors could be linked to parents not wanting to miss out on welfare payments, after the Federal Government tightened rules from last year to require conscientious objectors to register to receive the Family Tax Benefit Part A supplement and the childcare benefit.
The department said immunisation rates were improving but it was working to increase them through education and awareness programs. But doctors said the figures were concerning because they showed not only a rise in conscientious-objecting parents, but also immunisation rates continuing to lag other States.
Australian Medical Association WA president Michael Gannon said it was hard to understand why any parent could not see the value of immunising their children.
"I suspect with some who are prone to accepting conspiracy theories, we will never be able to change their minds and we will always have flat-earthers who are more inclined to believe rubbish on the internet than the evidence," Dr Gannon said.
He said it was selfish of parents not to vaccinate children unless there was a specific medical contraindication.
"Without trying to draw too long a bow, we've got the tragedy now of over 5000 deaths in West Africa from a viral illness and all over the world governments and pharmaceutical companies desperately trying to find a vaccine," he said.
Dr Gannon said of particular concern were low rates in five-year-olds. This was a vulnerable time as children started school.
