VACCINATION RATE —
CHILDREN
1165. Hon JACQUI BOYDELL to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Health:
My question is asked on behalf on
Hon Martin Aldridge, who is absent on urgent parliamentary business.
I
refer to page 310 of budget paper No 2 relating to outcomes and key
effectiveness indicators of child immunisations.
(1) What
assessment has been undertaken relating to the efficacy of the Public Health
Amendment (Immunisation Requirements for Enrolment) Act 2019 and its impact on
childhood immunisation rates?
(2) How many
children have been refused enrolment since the assent of the legislation in —
(a) a school;
(b) a community kindergarten; and
(c) a childcare centre?
(3) How many immunisation
certificates have been issued to date by the Chief Health Officer?
(4) How many children have fallen
within a class of exemption as prescribed by the regulations?
Hon
ALANNA CLOHESY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) To date, no
formal assessment has been made regarding the efficacy of the Public Health
Amendment (Immunisation Requirements for Enrolment) Act 2019. Provisional data
suggests that immunisation rates for children who turned five years of age were
stable from 2018 to 2019, the year the legislation came into effect. A formal
evaluation of the impact of the act on immunisation rates is planned for 2021.
(2) Data on the
number of children who have been refused enrolment is not collected by the
Department of Health and is not a requirement of the act.
(3) To date, one
immunisation certificate has been issued by the Chief Health Officer.
(4) Of the 570
children with an immunisation status of ''not up to date''
enrolled between 1 January and 31 March 2020, when audited on 30 June 2020, 79,
or 13.9 per cent, were on a catch-up schedule; 102, or 17.9 per cent, met one
of the categories for exemption as prescribed by the regulations; and 389, or
68.2 per cent, were enrolled with incomplete information on eligibility for an
exemption.
To address the high proportion of
children enrolled with incomplete information provided on eligibility for an exemption, an assessment of the current
understanding of persons in charge of schools and childcare services is
currently underway.