What do you think of Australia's vaccine policy?

[rampy]

I'm born and bred Aussie. We live in WA and kids here can't go to kindy or school
without having been vaccinated. I have a couple of British friends who were so offended that they needed to vaccinate their kids they home schooled because 'well we'll just go back to the uk' but they've stayed and now need to get their kids vaccinated because they have no friends their own age and can't go to school without vaccines.

You can't apply for child related benefits if your kid isn't vaccinated either here.

Having seen NZ have just declared a whooping cough epidemic Id say I agree with WA stance I'm honest!

I am also in WA and agree with the policy.

I'm a Brit and think it's a very sound policy tbh

France is same as Australia and works well, means that the most vulnérable are safe in school and as a society wtf are we of we can’t take care of those who need it?

You have to show vaccinations for uk schools as well. Each to their own.

I am antivaccination if I can be, and we live in America. I would say that you should see if your friends can fill out an exemption form if possible. We have a religious exemption form so that we do not have to get vaccinations. I am pro-vaccine if they didn't add so many extra things into the vaccine, but they do.

I’m not a great fan of coercion. I think persuasion is the better option.

I think the Aussies have this right.

We have had more cases of measles at DCs nursery than I ever expected in this day and age.

I also think they have it right with mandatory voting!

It doesn't preclude you from a state education though. I know several kids at our school who've never had a vaccine.

I am also a Brit who thinks this rule is good. My kids are fully vaccinated! I would be in favour of it becoming law over here too (but it wont)

I was uneasy about the prospect of covid vaccines being mandated, but I think for illnesses like polio, whooping cough, measles, mumps, diptheria, smallpox etc yes, I would have no issue . These vaccines have been around a long while and I'm all for them. Those with a valid exemption (chemo? Allergies?) won't be forced to take them, I'm sure.

YANBU

I'd be happy for us to have this rule here (England).

What happens in Australia if the child cannot have some vaccines for medical reasons?

Which vaccines? My son has as few as possible after big reactions to certain vaccines (itp and pericarditis) and he will not be having a covid vaccine again. I assume he would be exempted?

This kind of rule sounds so great until your kid is the kid with the 1 in 100000 reaction.

Medical exemptions are allowed but, from what I have seen, they tend to be used only if absolutely necessary. I think the system is generally speaking supported and not abused.

Although, apparently in the Byron Bay area, there is a particularly low vaccination rate. Not sure how that is reflected in homeschooling/medical exemption rates.

I've never been asked or had to show anything for 2 kids at primary school in England

Some might ask for this, mine has not.

This kind of rule sounds so great until your kid is the kid with the 1 in 100000 reaction.

It must be tough if your child is the 1 in 100000. But if the alternative is 1 in 1000 being affected by diseases that could otherwise be avoided…

FYSi- I think my 1 in 1000 statistic is inaccurate. I pulled it out of the air. I am certain that in the past more than 1 in 1000 children were killed/maimed/injured by diseases that could otherwise have been prevented through vaccinations.

I’m a bit on the fence about this. I do believe all kids who don’t have a medical exemption should be vaccinated. I’m not convinced that mandating it for school entry protects children. I’d be concerned that it radicalises parents who are already at that end of the spectrum if they haven’t vaccinated in the first place. Those kids need to be known to the state, not withdrawn from it.

I used to believe that if a policy was sound, people would do the right thing. Then the pandemic happened. I lost all faith in humanity. I now want experienced public health officials to advise on best practices and have those best practices mandated by law. so now I fully support the policy of requiring vaccinations for school. I think there should be medical exemptions, but not religious/philosophical.

You don’t. My kids have been to about 6 schools between them and have never had to show vaccine records.

What additives are you avoiding by not vaccinating your children?

Good for Australia!
Anti vaxx nonsense is just paranoia.

We will always have mandatory vaccinations here. There are exemptions - anaphylactic to egg is one, as many vaccines are grown on eggs - but we know what happens when Northern Hemisphere diseases gets into the Aboriginal population. The results were devastating.

A few years ago, we did have a case go to court over an alleged vaccine injury where the child was left severely disabled but I can’t remember the result of that.

Many First Nations people now live in third world levels of poverty and their health reflects this.

No government wants that much blood on their hands again. I think one of the reasons WA had such draconian Covid laws was because of this.

I highly approve of this policy.