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!

Are the comments mostly bots on here? Odd.

I worry that it means certain kids will be entirely excluded from the mainstream. A huge strength of school, I think, is that it is different to home. Children are exposed to different ideas, cultures, moralities, faiths, family types, foods... And like it or not school performs a safeguarding function.

It worries me that kids whose parents may already be quite marginal or radical will not have access to any other model of life. They will slip through the cracks and at best miss out on socialisation/education opportunities; at best will become extremely vulnerable. None of this was their choice. But they may become very trapped.

No, am not a bot. I just believe in herd immunity.

This.

There are some batshit people out there.

Sounds like a good idea to me. Anti-vaxxers are morons.

Horrific.

You do realise what all of the other things in the vaccine are needed for?

Sounds like a good idea, as long as there are genuine medical exemptions.

But I don’t understand the mindset of anti-vaxxers.

It’s an excellent policy which allows exemptions for genuine medical reasons,

We have a religious exemption form so that we do not have to get vaccinations

Just when you think the US can’t get any more insane.

So how does it work with a bad reaction?

DD1 had a horrific reaction to her first jabs and the GP said that she should not have anymore.

She went into a career in medicine that meant that she needed to get a lot of vaccinations in order to work and they all had to be done uner clinical conditions, actually in a theatre with staff there in case she reacted again.

Would she have had an exemption or would she simply have to be homeschooled?

I’m in Australia. Children can attend *some childcare centres without being vaccinated, they’re just not eligible for the childcare subsidy. Some (most) childcare centres refuse enrolment due to children not being vaccinated.

Family tax benefit is also cut by $30 per week for any children who are not vaccinated.

Children are eligible to attend school unvaccinated, even when the school asks for proof of vaccinations. A school (state schools) cannot refuse enrolment due to a child not being vaccinated. I’m a teacher and I have a few students in my class who are unvaccinated. One parent is totally anti vax because “you don’t know what they’re pumping into the kids”, yet ironically the packed lunch she sends her child is full of god knows what (eg a bag of skittles, Doritos and a bottle of Gatorade)…

Not insane at all for Jewish or Muslim families as some vaccines contain pig products.

I don't think it's worth the impact it would have on children of strict anti vaxxers. Especially when on the extreme end of that it's regularly a part of mental health issues and extreme paranoia. Isolating children in that situation is something to be avoided.

I am in process of getting a nursing degree, some of them are useful, others can be extremely harmful

Sorry but you are so misinformed. Nothing else is ‘added into vaccines’ other than the necessary elements and carrier. This is pure conspiracy and is so harmful. Why on earth would any religion preclude you from protecting your own children and others.

I'm in Australia, and it's not mandatory in practice. Parents can opt out. But I think it's like our voting here being mandatory unless you want to pay a small fine - it concentrates minds and makes parents realise how out of step they are with everyone else when they refuse to vaccinate their children.

My daughter was at high school with the daughter of anti-vaxxers. The girl missed more than half a year of high school with a severe and recurring case of whooping cough. None of her vaccinated friends got it.

Hospitals also expect any visitors for newborn babies to be up to date on their whooping cough. We have a grandchild due in a few weeks and have all just been for our boosters.

Good idea. YANBU.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-26/whooping-cough-vaccine-numbers-down-cases-surge/104644340

and then there is Riley, who is shown trying to survive www.facebook.com/lightforriley/

There's probably quite a big crossover between anti vaxers and home schoolers anyway, so it might not be a deterrent. The benefit thing might be. I think it's good for kids to have adults outside the family keeping an eye on them, in case the family is abusive.

Is that a new rule? I don’t remember showing anything to anyone about DD’s vaccination.

I agree with Australia’s approach, not sure about compulsory voting though, people have to understand the importance of voting and be interested in what’s going on in their country’s life.

This does not remotely qualify you to comment. Hopefully your ignorance will be addressed by the time you’ve completed your studies. If not, you will struggle to work in an evidence-based setting.

There are medical exemptions, obviously. Outside of those reasonable exemptions there are still people who don’t vaccinate their children but send them to school and so on.

I think it’s appropriate to set a standard and encourage negligent parents to comply. In practice it does not result in school exclusion, because the children of those parents are most in need of a robust education, and are least likely to receive it at home.

Right? Is this even a real thread? This is just weird.

@Annabmt

I am in process of getting a nursing degree, some of them are useful, others can be extremely harmful

I'm a little dubious about your nursing degree claim. There is nothing in vaccines that doesn't need to be there. Of course, some people may have a reaction to a component - but that can happen with all medications. In fact, the risk is proportionally higher with paracetamol.

@Annabmt won’t you have to have some vaccinations to be a nurse