Noosa lags behind for child jabs

Noosa set to innovate youth but pockets of concern

IMMUNISATION ADVOCATE: Dr Peter Dobson. Picture: John McCutcheon

NOOSA'S childhood immunisation rates are still well below the target 95 per cent required to stop serious infectious outbreaks.

This was despite the Sunshine Coast region being cited as a national stand-out for increasing the level of children being vaccinated out of Australia's 31 primary health networks

According to the Federal Government's Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the latest data shows that 93.5 per cent of Australian five-year-olds were fully immunised in 2016-17.

This is up from 92.9 per cent in 2015-16 and 90 per cent in 2011-12, but still below the national target of 95 per cent needed for "herd immunity” which would also protect the remaining unvaccinated population.

AIHW spokeswoman Tracy Dixon said the greatest improvement was seen in the Central Queensland, Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast PHN area, which rose from 91.6 per cent in 2015-16 to 93.3 per cent in 2016-17.

However in Noosa only 89.9 per cent of one, two and five-year-olds are fully immunised, with 91 per cent in "Maroochy” and 94 per cent in Caloundra.

The Nambour to Pomona area recorded the lowest level at just 87 per cent.

Primary Health Network chairman Dr Peter Dobson said the new regional statistics showed a second consecutive rise in percentage of fully immunised children across every age group for the 2016-17 period.

"Since 2014-15 we have seen a consistent rise in the percentage of children fully immunised at one, two and five years of age,” he said.

"The rates we are seeing are a great step in the right direction.

"The greatest change we have seen is in the five-year-old age bracket, where we saw a 1.7 per cent rise in the percentage of fully immunised children (locally). Coverage rose by 0.7 per cent to 91.3 per cent for two-year-olds and by 0.5 per cent to 93 per cent for one-year-olds.

"We are pleased to see that parents aren't falling victim to the misinformation peddled by the anti-vaccination movement.”

Dr Dobson said while this improvement was welcome, rates needed to be as high as 95 per cent to provide community-wide protection.

Updated information on immunisation against human papillomavirus (HPV) is also available on the MyHealthy Communities website.

The web update shows that in 2015-16, 80.1 per cent of girls aged 15, and 74.1 per cent of boys aged 15 were fully immunised against HPV.

Ms Dixon said: "HPV immunisation rates for girls varied across PHN areas, ranging from 85.6 per cent of girls fully immunised in Central and Eastern Sydney to 69.2 per cent in Tasmania.”

Peter Gardiner