Coinciding with World Immunisation Week (24 - 30 April), Immunity for Community features real stories of everyday Victorians whose personal experiences reinforce the potentially lifesaving benefits of immunisation to not only individuals but the community as a whole.
The first video, in the series of five, shares the story of Sonny, a six month old who can’t be immunised for medical reasons.
Currently, around 93 per cent of Victorian children under five are fully vaccinated, according to new figures released by the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register.
While these high levels of protection are encouraging, more needs to be done to reach 95 per cent coverage necessary to halt the spread of dangerous and virulent diseases such as measles.
Sadly there are also still parts of the state where immunisation rates are far too low. For example, in the City of Melbourne, the percentage of children under five who are fully vaccinated is around 89 per cent, while in the City of Port Phillip it is only 86 per cent.
That’s why the State Government introduced the tough new No Jabs, No Play law, which requires all Victorian children to be fully vaccinated to attend childcare and kindergarten.
The Immunity for Community campaign aims to remind parents of the importance of vaccinating their children, and to encourage those with questions or concerns to get advice from a medically qualified source such as their GP.
For more information on immunisation visit www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au.
