Vaccine rebels go solo on jabs

THE Gold Coast Hinterland has one of the lowest rates of vaccination in the country – but Queensland teenagers are fighting back.

The teens are increasingly defying their anti-vax parents and getting secret jabs to protect themselves against potentially deadly diseases.

Doctors have dubbed these teenagers ‘‘Generation V’’ and say there is an increasing number of youngsters aged 15 and over taking advantage of Queensland laws that allow medical treatment, including immunisation, without parental consent.

In 2017, vaccination rates climbed on the Gold Coast for young children, but still remained under the 95 per cent national threshold needed for “herd immunity”.

In the Hinterland, just 86.2 per cent of children under one year old were immunised.

In other parts of Queensland, the vaccination rate is as low as 88.93 per cent and the state immunisation rate is not meeting the Australian Medical Association’s national target of 95 per cent.

Teenagers aged between 15 and 19 are particularly at risk of the deadly meningococcal disease and, according to Queensland Health, “these kids take vaccinations so seriously we could call them ‘Generation V’ as lots actually remind parents about the importance of vaccination”.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Harry Nespolon said teenagers had the right to protect themselves.

“I’d prefer a teenager to be vaccinated without parental consent than dead within a day,” he said. “If a teen wanted to be vaccinated, a GP would urge them to discuss with their parents, but if that was not possible then they would seriously assess the competency of the patient. We would work with the teens to try to get them caught up with lifesaving injections.”

Some children are asking their peers on social media for advice on how to get vaccinated without parental consent.

In Queensland, the “mature minor” law allows children aged 15 and over to consent to their own medical treatment. The service provider must assess if they have sufficient understanding to make their own decisions.

But this legislation has been labelled deadly and divisive by parents who do not support immunisation.

Dr Dilip Dhupelia, the AMA Queensland President, said the evidence was overwhelming that since immunisation was introduced, the community had benefited through the reduction in preventable illnesses, some of which are deadly.