Western Victoria Continues to Lead Way with Childhood Immunisation Rates

Media Release

Primary Health Network (PHN) childhood immunisation coverage rates for December 2019 have been published, confirming that Western Victoria PHN (WVPHN) continues to have the highest immunisation rates in Australia.

The data shows that western Victoria led the way for children aged 12 to 15 months (96.52 per cent) and 24 to 27 months (94.87 per cent, up from 94.71 per cent in September). The exceptional numbers continue with 97.16 per cent of children aged 60 to 63 months (five years of age) fully immunised, sitting only just behind Western New South Wales in national coverage rates.

WVPHN is also pleased to advise that 98.32 per cent of five year old Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in its region are fully immunised, placing it in the top few regions nationally.

The results are as a result of excellent collaborative efforts between WVPHN and its partnership with regional health care providers in providing support for effective, high quality immunisation services to the western Victorian community.

WVPHN Chief Executive Officer, Dr Leanne Beagley, says having your child immunised helps protect them from the most serious childhood infections and it is also a requirement by law for immunisations to be up-to-date before your child starts childcare and kindergarten, through the National No Jab No Play and Victorian No Jab No Play policies.

“These outstanding rates of childhood immunisation in western Victoria are a sure sign that our children’s’ health remains a top priority in primary and preventative health care,” Dr Beagley said.

Routine childhood immunisations help protect children against preventable diseases including diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis), polio, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal C disease, hepatitis B, haemophilus influenzae type B (hib), rotavirus, chickenpox (varicella), measles, mumps and rubella (German measles) and influenza.

“Minimising health risk by protecting our children against serious diseases is not only beneficial to your child, but also the greater community. The immunity of our region is only possible thanks to the hard work of our health care providers, General Practitioners (GP) and nurse immunisers who have been supported by WVPHN’s excellent team of immunisation consultants and practice facilitators,” Dr Beagley said.

“It is a credit to all involved as we continue to work towards 100 per cent coverage rates for children aged up to five years of age.”

The WVPHN Immunisation Program includes:

  • Professional development for immunisation program staff
  • Education and support with Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) registration, reporting processes and data transfer
  • Immunisation information via HealthPathways and newsletters
  • Annual immunisation forums in both Ballarat and Geelong

Families can find out further information on childhood vaccination by speaking with their GP or maternal and child health nurses. To find your closest GP, visit: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/australian-health-services

Related Articles

No Articles Found.

Share