Parents of children starting school next year are being reminded to ensure their children are fully immunised.
Department of Health medical adviser Professor Paul Effler said infectious diseases were capable of spreading quickly in the school environment and that to keep children healthy it was vital they stayed up to date with their vaccinations.
“It is a legislative requirement that a child’s Australian Immunisation Register history is provided at enrolment into public school and most private schools also collect this information. The looming 20 July enrolment deadline for kindergarten and pre-primary makes this an opportune time to check your child’s immunisation status,” he said.
“Immunisation rates have been rising in Western Australia in recent years, reaching 93 per cent this year for children assessed at 1 and 5 years of age. This is really encouraging, but for optimal community protection we are striving for 95 per cent.”
The vaccines in the National Immunisation Program (NIP) currently protect young children from many serious illnesses including measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis (whooping cough), diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, haemophilus influenzae type B disease, hepatitis B, rotavirus, varicella (chickenpox), meningococcal disease, influenza and pneumococcal disease.
Professor Effler said childhood vaccinations through the NIP – a joint initiative of the State and Commonwealth governments – were free, however parents were advised to check with their GP to see if an administration fee would be charged.
Parents also have the option of taking their children to a Community Health Clinic for their immunisations, at no cost. Further details regarding the hours and locations for public child immunisation clinics are available at HealthyWA (external site).
Parents can see a record of their child’s past vaccinations at the Human Services website (external site).
Visit HealthyWA (external site) for information on where to get vaccinated and starting school.
ENDS
Media contact: 9222 4333
Follow us on Twitter: @WAHealth