Childhood immunisation can be such an emotive topic, especially if you are the parents of a baby and trying to do the right thing by your vulnerable infant.

I am a parent of three children and have questioned the safety of vaccinations. As part of my final clinical exams in 2002, I had to debate the merits and flaws of the then current MMR autism scare, and was thoroughly convinced of the importance of immunisation and the flimsiness of the arguments against. Yet several years later, when I viewed the scare stories and swirling debates from the perspective of a parent, I became unsure and had to go back to the drawing board and review all the evidence again, just to be sure. And then I was sure. Sure that immunisation is one of the safest and most effective ways to stop the spread of many of the world’s most infectious diseases.

Our childhood vaccination schedules have been effective for so long that most of us parenting currently, have no personal experience of the devastation some of the diseases included in the schedule can wreak - we don’t have friends who’ve lost infants to haemophilus influenza, or peers with a limp from polio, or know children brain damaged from measles, or deaf because their mum had german measles while pregnant. The immunisation booklet included in the NSW Children's Blue Book gives more information about what these diseases really are, and why their elimination from Australia has been so life changing.

A recent outbreak of measles at Disneyland is a good example of the efficacy of immunisation programmes. The childhood measles programme was introduced in the US in 1968 and by 2000 this highly infectious and potentially deadly disease was declared eliminated from the US. In the years that followed approximately 60 cases per year were reported, mostly from overseas visitors or contacts. Then from the late 1990’s, debate arose over the safety of vaccines, in particular the MMR, and some parents withheld their children from vaccination. By 2013 the total number of cases of measles in the US hit 644. In December 2014, an outbreak affecting 130 people occurred in Disneyland, an area where large numbers of travellers from many different countries come together in a relatively small space. This was an example of how disease spreads when less people are vaccinated. When we choose not to vaccinate our children, we are impacting not just our own family but those in community around us.

This page (click here) explains how vaccines work, why we give so many when our children are still so young, what herd immunity means, vaccines safety record, and how they work etc.

The protective effect of some immunisations can last up to 30 years. Others require boosters to counter the waning immunity. Pertussis (whooping cough) is one such vaccine and over the past few years there has been a resurgence in the disease, partly due to a drop off in our national vaccination rate. Immunity to whooping cough has almost certainly waned by adulthood and the infection can be carried by parents and grandparents to their children. Children under 12 months are at risk of becoming severely unwell if they catch whooping cough. Current advice to attend for a booster every 5 years if you are a parent or grandparent of infants, has recently been updated and a booster is now recommended with every new child born, as often as every 12 months. This is general advice and specifics should be discussed with your own doctor.

In line with this, NSW Health has introduced an antenatal pertussis vaccination program. Boostrix is now a free vaccine for all pregnant women in the third trimester, preferably given at 28 weeks. The flu vaccine is also recommended and free to all pregnant women. To protect the infants near you, follow the current advice on preventing spread, and if you are becoming a parent or grandparent imminently, make an appointment to discuss your vaccination status with your GP, specifically whooping cough and influenza, ideally before the baby is born.

Immunisation - facts about immunisation, FAQs, information about vaccine preventable diseases and vaccine safety