Changes to the National Immunisation Program schedule coming into effect today (July 1, 2013) will see two fewer injections given to young children. The changes represent a more efficient way of delivering…
The rate of young children contracting pneumococcal disease has plunged since the introduction of universal vaccination against the disease in 2005.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanofi-pasteur
The number of young children contracting the most common strains of potentially fatal pneumococcal disease has plummeted 97% since the universal vaccination against this bacterial disease began in 2005…
A still picture from Jabbed, showing Osman Chandab being treated for whooping cough, which he contracted when he was seven weeks old.
Genepool Productions
In April 1939, measles was coursing through the industrial suburbs of North Melbourne, Carlton and Fitzroy, but the city medical officer assured the public it was not severe. He noted there had been just…
The ‘no jab, no play’ rule seeks to reduce the risk of a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak but it may actually increase the risk.
Image from shutterstock.com
A recent News Limited campaign to enable childcare centres in NSW to refuse entry to unvaccinated children is gaining momentum, with the legislation expected to be introduced to NSW parliament this week…
Vaccines are one of the most effective public health measures ever introduced.
Image from shutterstock.com
Recently released government figures show levels of childhood vaccination have fallen to dangerously low levels in some areas of Australia, resulting in some corners of the media claiming re-ignition of…
Parents who choose not to vaccinate their children put the whole community at risk.
Dave Haygarth
New diseases grab headlines. The latest influenza scare – H7N9 – has prompted much speculation about the direction the virus might take. And rightly so, as vaccines to fight new viruses can take some time…
Parents need the facts about childhood vaccination.
Nonanet.
The heated battle between Australia’s anti-vaccine lobby, the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN), and those fighting against its misinformation took a positive turn late last week, with the New South…
Late 19th century lithograph by French artist Gaston Mélingue showing Edward Jenner vaccinating a boy on May 14, 1796.
Wikimedia Commons
The principle of prevention being better than the cure is at the heart of public health and social marketing efforts such as immunisation. But not everyone agrees and the challenge is how to address disagreement…
Too much urging can backfire and entrench some parents’ opposition to vaccination.
Flickr/skippytpe
Dr Seuss’ book Green Eggs and Ham is built around the urgings of a weird creature, Sam I Am, who insists the narrator eat the food of its title. When the narrator refuses, Sam issues an ever-widening range…
There is no truth to claims that immunisations cause autism, brain damage or sudden infant death syndrome.
theloushe
When I was an infant I had whooping cough and was ill for three months. I don’t remember it, of course, but I know it was very distressing for my parents. I do remember later trips with my researcher father…
The vast majority of children that get measles will overcome it, but in some cases it can prove fatal.
Dave Haygarth/Flickr
As a fail-safe mechanism, parents should be required to show proof their children have been immunised against measles before they are allowed to start school, says infectious diseases expert and director…
A new strain of whooping cough that appears to be resistant to vaccination could take Australia’s four-year epidemic into a dangerous new phase, researchers have warned. A team led by scientists at The…
Paediatrician at the Royal Childrens Hospital and Associate Professor and Clinician Scientist, University of Melbourne and MCRI, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Paediatrician, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance; Clinical Lecturer, Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney