Australia is now experiencing a deeply concerning decline in vaccination rates for its youngest children. This shocking decline has led to national outcry from health officials and immunologists. John Dwyer, a prominent immunologist from Yale University, has publicly raised the alarm about the impending crisis. He calls the falling vaccination rates “deeply alarming.” The new numbers reflect yet another alarming blow to the public’s health. Since 2020, routine vaccination rates for two-year-olds have decreased by 4.5 percent.
As of 2024, just 89.4 percent of two-year-olds were fully up-to-date on vaccines, a drop from 2023 and 2022. Vaccination rates for one-year-olds are at an all-time low. Only 91.6 percent are currently up-to-date, down from 94.8 percent in 2020. By age five, the vaccination rate is 92.7 percent, declining from 94.9 percent in 2020. National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance Epidemiology has tracked declines among children aged under five. This underscores the acute need for action to be taken.
In response to this worrying downward trend Health Minister Mark Butler recently launched a national immunisation strategy. The Australian Government is aiming for 95% vaccination coverage nationwide within five years. Beyond that, they’ll tackle issues related to vaccine hesitancy and equitable access to vaccines. Our single-minded goal is to get the vaccination coverage rate to 95 percent. This will give our community greater protection against preventable diseases.
Dwyer acknowledged that even though Australia’s overall vaccination rates are still some of the highest in the world, the recent drops are scary. He noted, “Australia has high vaccination rates when you look globally, but our rates have fallen alarmingly.” This is an alarming decline, especially with a lot of misinformation about vaccines still spreading around.
The damage caused by misinformation on public perception over the years cannot be overstated. Dwyer stated, “We’ve got to counter this misinformation, which is far outweighing the good information that’s available through social media.” He’s convinced a strong, robust campaign will be critical to ensuring that parents are comfortable vaccinating their kids. This strategy is designed to empower them to take greater responsibility for their own children’s health. He remarked, “This requires a positive campaign that makes people feel comfortable and yes, makes them feel a little guilty if they haven’t done the best by their child by vaccinating them.”
James Trauer, an infectious disease expert and leading vaccination researcher, warned how bad things could get if vaccination rates continue to drop. He cautioned that if vaccination coverage is not high enough, outbreaks of diseases that are currently preventable can start to happen. “If your vaccination coverage falls below a certain level, you get outbreaks,” he noted. He emphasized the importance of achieving high vaccination coverage to control diseases effectively.
The drop in vaccination rates isn’t just occurring in Australia. This shift is part of a larger trend influenced by recent world events. Dwyer pointed out concerns regarding the United States’ handling of vaccine messaging, mentioning recent dismissals of top officials within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee. “When you look at what’s happening in the US, with the dismissal of top vaccine officials, it’s a worry. Misinformation may be gallivanting not just over there, but over here,” he warned.
As Australia continues to experience these issues, experts such as Trauer are calling on the government to do more to combat vaccine hesitancy and misinformation. “For lots of infectious diseases, you get substantial immunity against infection through the vaccine, and you can totally control them and even reach elimination for many infectious diseases just by reaching high enough coverage,” he explained.
