Qld govt to phone parents in vaccine drive

Queensland's government is encouraging the parents of 35,000 children who aren't properly vaccinated to help the immunisation rate up to 95 per cent.

Queensland's government will phone the parents of children who are not properly vaccinated to encourage them to get their shots.

Health Minister Cameron Dick wants to lift the vaccination rate for the state's children from 92.3 per cent to 95 per cent.

He says the government will begin calling the parents of 35,000 children under the age of five, who do not have their vaccinations up to date or at all, from October 1.

"This is opening up another front in our war against preventable diseases in Queensland," Mr Dick said.

"The more people who are vaccinated, the more children who are vaccinated, the better the health of our community."

The state's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young said if a level of 95 per cent of vaccination in the community was not reached, diseases previously eradicated could reappear in the state.

"A lot of those diseases are still very significant diseases elsewhere in the world and when (unvaccinated) people go overseas they can bring them back and we see them emerge again," she warned.

Mr Dick said apart from the obvious health benefits, the vaccination drive would ensure parents and children are not excluded from the Commonwealth Child Care Benefit, which will require children to be immunised from January 1.

The minister also warned if Labor's laws pass state parliament, unvaccinated children could also be excluded from kindergarten or child care centres.

He added the cost of the `Drive for 95' phone call program would be about $1.5 million.


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Source: AAP


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