New figures reveal Melton has the highest proportion of fully-immunised five-year-olds in Melbourne’s outer west.
A state government report card released last week showed 93 per cent of Victorian children were immunised by the time they started school this year. It wants to increase this figure to 95 per cent by 2015.
The figures showed that 94.34 per cent of Melton five-year-olds had been fully immunised. Only 90 per cent of Moorabool children were fully immunised before starting school, the lowest proportion in the outer west.
Health Minister David Davis said immunisation played a crucial role in public health.
“Starting school means that children are in contact with a larger number of people, which can expose them to a range of potentially dangerous diseases, so making sure they are fully immunised is the best protection,’’ he said. Melton West mother Tasha David says parents deserve the right to choose whether they vaccinate their children.
The mother of eight, who is a member of an anti-immunisation group, vaccinated her six eldest children but chose not to immunise the other two.
Ms David said she decided not to vaccinate her youngest children after those who had been vaccinated developed behavioural and learning problems. “It was a clear-cut decision for us. The two who are unvaccinated are completely healthy,’’ she said.
Australian Academy of Science president Professor Suzanne Cory urged parents to base their decisions on the best scientific evidence. Professor Cory said studies had ruled out links between vaccinations and health problems such as autism.
