When the New Year fireworks fade and the clock ushered in 2016 the people who refuse to have their kids immunized against childhood diseases will have a choice. If they persist with their illogical claims that immunization is a health hazard it will cost them a range of government benefits worth thousands of dollars a year.
From January 1 all children up to the age of nineteen years who are not fully immunized will become ineligible for the Childcare rebate, the Family Tax Benefit Part A end of year supplement - and be refused enrollment at most early learning facilities.
There will be a sixty three day period of grace to allow parents to get their children compliant with the law and these jabs are free. Those in the 10 - 20 age group can also obtain catchup jabs at no cost and the aim is to complete the " herd effect " that relegates Mumps, Measles, Chicken Pox and a whole range of dangerous diseases to history.
This has been a long and frustrating fight. We have successfully eliminated polio in Australia and in fact it now only exists in three world countries, all of which are wracked with a form of terrorist activity which results in polio vaccination being shunned - and the doctors and nurses who deliver this life saving treatment being brutally killed.
All forms of immunization deliver a tiny risk, but the benefits of stopping the spread of childhood diseases which deliver some deaths is overwhelming. Medical science if adamant and yet some opponents manufacture scare stories out of thin air and create a " fad " which sees some followers refuse vaccinations - and open an opportunity for diseases to gain a new foothold.
This law does not compel parents to have their children immunized, but it delivers a choice. If they persist with pointless opposition, it simply means that benefits worth a great amount of money are no longer available and will be withdrawn. There is the expectation that when it comes to a choice between what is really an unsubstantiated rumour dismissed by medical science - and a very handy government benefit that helps with family finances - a very obvious decision will be made.
It is important that immunization delivers immunity to not only tiny little kids. Teenagers who miss out on full protection become adults at high risk if they journey overseas and visit countries where health laws are lax and childhood diseases are endemic. If these diseases are caught later in life they often become chronic - and in some cases - fatal !
Unfortunately, even with wide publicity it is likely that some people will be unaware of this change in the law and will find the cessation of benefits a shock when it takes place sixty-three days into the new year. In some instances that will be because they are not proficient in the English language and in others because of apathy and simply not finding the time to visit a clinic and bring jabs up to date.
They can rest assured that their benefits will be instantly restored, just as soon as they present certification that their children are fully immunized !
No comments:
Post a Comment