Immunisation rates for children in the Mountains are better than national averages, and reveal that 98 per cent of Aboriginal five-year-olds are fully vaccinated, according to a report released today.
Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed that in every age category in the Nepean Blue Mountains – one-, two- and five-year-olds – more local children have been vaccinated compared with numbers Australia-wide.
For one-year-olds, the figure is 94.4 per cent, compared with 93.8 per cent nationally.
For two-year-olds, the 91.5 per cent rate was also higher than the national rate of 90.9 per cent.
And by the age of five, 94.7 per cent of Mountains children have been fully immunised, compared with 93.5 per cent Australia-wide.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children the numbers are well above national figures.
Ninety four per cent of one-year-olds are fully vaccinated (92.2 per cent nationally), 92.5 per cent of two-year-olds (compared with 8.6 per cent) and 98 per cent at the age of five (compared with 95.7 per cent across the country).
An AIHW spokeswoman, Tracy Dixon, said of the results: “Despite the majority of Australian children being immunised, it’s important that we don’t become complacent. We need to maintain high immunisation rates to protect the vulnerable groups in our community.”
A spokesman for Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District said vaccinations were an important way to protect children from potentially deadly diseases.
Immunising also helped to protect other vulnerable members of the family such as elderly grandparents, relatives with chronic diseases and those with compromised immune systems due to cancer treatment, for example.
“Vaccinations are very, very safe and effective when the full course is completed,” he said. “We understand families are busy and that’s why we work closely with local GPs, the Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network and our own primary care nurses to ensure everyone can access the vaccines they need.
“There are still children and adults in the community who aren’t fully vaccinated, I encourage everyone to talk to their GP to make sure they and everyone they love is up to date.”
The spokesman also urged people to consider an annual influenza vaccination.
“The vaccinations are usually available from your GP, selected local chemists and some other health services from April onwards,” he said.
