Aussie parents have spoken out in a national survey, revealing that, in some cases, their unimmunised kids had been turned away and denied medical treatment at the fear they’ll present a risk to other patients.
“All children, regardless of their vaccination status, have an equal right to health care,” Director of the Australian Child Health Poll, paediatrician Dr Anthea Rhodes explains.
“While some medical professionals will argue that unvaccinated children can present a risk to other patients, we must remember that children aren’t making these choices about vaccination for themselves.
“By turning them away, health care providers not only deny health care to a child, but remove the possibility of educating parents and helping them to eventually choose to vaccinate,” she added.
Courtesy of the Australian Child Health Poll
Of the 3,492 children taking part in the Australian Child Health Poll, 95 per cent were recorded as fully immunised.
The data collected also found that a parent’s decision not to vaccinate comes down that to that, incredibly, one in 10 parents still believe them to be connected to autism and 30 per cent were unsure, despite countless scientific studies proving there to be no links whatsoever.
The topic of vaccinations has been contentious one of late, with the report coming just days after One Nation senator Pauline Hanson likened the ‘no jab, no play’ policy to a dictatorship set in place to “blackmail” parents into immunisation.
“Parents who choose not to vaccinate their children are putting their own children’s health at risk and they are putting the health of everybody else’s children at risk as well,” Prime Minister Turnbull said in a response to Senator Hanson’s comments on Sunday.
“That is why vaccination is so important. That is why we have our no-jab, no-pay policy. It has worked very well over the past year and we have seen 200,000 more children vaccinated as a result.”
Other key findings:
More than 70 per cent of parents said knowing the number of unvaccinated kids in a school or day-care would make them rethink sending their children there.
*Nearly three quarters of parents across Australia support the ‘No Jab, No Play’
policy, believing children who are not up-to-date with vaccines should be refused access to child care or kindergarten.*
- Just 1 per cent of children were completely unvaccinated and 6 per cent were selectively unvaccinated.
To find out more about vaccinations and your child’s safety, book an appointment with your trusted GP today.
