A report from the Friday, May 28th 2010 edition of the West Australian Newspaper, page 6:
…Nationally, the number of children whose parents have registered as conscientious objectors to vaccinations rose by 68 per cent in five years, while in WA it has soared by 100 per cent.
Dr Paul Effler, the medical co-ordinator of the immunisation program in WA, said people no longer saw the diseases prevented by vaccines and so focused on the side effects.
“I think vaccines have been a victim of their own success,” he said. “If you think of a world with no vaccines, think of what disease rates in children would look like. It would be like going back 50 years and seeing what meningitis did to children, killing them and making them deaf.”
In 2008-09, 7154 children nationwide were exempted by conscientious objection, up from 4269 in 2003-04. In WA, the number rose from 390 to 776. The latest Medicare figures indicate the number of children exempted from immunisation by their parent’s conscientious objection will also increase this financial year. The nationwide tally was 6586 by May 18. In WA, the 693 children on the register equated to 16.5 children per week, compared with 15 in 2008-09.
Dr Effler said the rise in conscientious objections was partly because some parents had been convinced by anti-vaccine campaigners.
