Clarke says vaccine education key
MODEL mum Kyly Clarke wants parents to stop being afraid of “intimidating” GPs and get educated about vaccination.
The wife of cricketer Michael Clarke and mum to Kelsey Lee, 18 months, has taken up the fight against vaccine misinformation and is urging parents to protect their kids against deadly meningococcal.
“Like everything in life, prevention is better than cure, it’s really as simple as that. We are so lucky to live in a country like Australia where vaccinations are available for all the strains of meningococcal,” she said. “But there are some that aren’t subsidised and they are really important for our children.”
Kelsey Lee was born five weeks premature and Ms Clarke said she worried about the effect on her future health, which underscored the importance of having her fully vaccinated. Ms Clarke is now spearheading a campaign by pharmaceutical giant GSK to better educate parents about the symptoms of meningococcal disease, which include high fever, severe headache, nausea and vomiting and a rash.
“Parents are not meant to be GPs but we are meant to have great communication with the GPs and we should open up the conversation a little more and not be afraid to ask questions about what is in the immunisations,” she said.