‘Anti-vaxxers’ jabbed with double whammy
FAR North parents who choose to not vaccinate their kids will face tougher access to childcare services when hardhitting new laws come into effect on Friday.
The Federal Government’s “No Jab, No Pay” legislation, which received bipartisan support, blocks “conscientious objectors” to immunisation from receiving childcare benefits, rebates and the Family Tax Benefit A end-of-year supplement, worth $726.35.
In a double blow for “antivaxxers”, the State Government’s heavily-backed new immunisation laws also begin January 1.
Passed in October, the legislation allows childcare providers the power to knock back parents who refuse to immunise their children against vaccine-preventable diseases.
Cairns childcare centre operator Daphne Downs welcomed the tough new laws, saying they would help achieve “herd immunity” among children.
“There are plenty of parents who are not conscientious objectors, but for a variety of reasons just haven’t got round to immunising their children,” she said.
“They will now go and have their kids vaccinated, which will boost the percentage.”
Despite being a strong supporter of vaccination, Ms Downs said she would still welcome unimmunised children to her childcare centre, but only after consulting with other parents.
“I wouldn’t want a child to be in a position where they can’t receive mainstream care,” she said.
“The risk with turning away children is the formation of underground childcare centres that bring together unimmunised kids, which could be really dangerous.”
Ms Downs, a parent and former medical student, said vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough would “spread like wildfire” among large groups of unimmunised children.
Cairns mother of three Elin Axman said she would prefer her young children to attend an early learning facility that supported 100 per cent vaccination.
“If they allowed children in who weren’t immunised then that might worry some of the other parents,” she said.
Queensland Health data shows only 92 per cent of children in the Cairns and Hinterland Health region are fully vaccinated at age five - 3 per cent less than the Torres Strait and Cape York.
In 2013, Kuranda was one of several areas identified as an anti-vaccination hot spot.