In the wake of new research which showed that influenza was the biggest vaccine-preventable killer of NSW children in the past decade, the state government is pushing for the flu shot to be provided for free to all children by the federal government, the NSW Chief Health Officer says.
Twenty-three children died in NSW from vaccine-preventable diseases between 2004 and 2015, 12 of them from influenza, .
A further 16 recorded deaths would now be considered preventable due to advances in understanding the benefits of vaccinating expectant mothers while they are pregnant, according to the research published on Thursday in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Childhood influenza vaccine is recommended for all children over six months old, but it is only available for free to high-risk groups on the federally-funded National Immunisation Program. Those not on the high-risk list have to pay for the flu jab, including for children.
But Dr Kerry Chant, NSW Chief Health Officer told SBS News “the NSW government has been in discussions with the Commonwealth government about the importance of considering whether the childhood influenza vaccination should be on the National Immunisation Program.”
“We are encouraging parents to go to their GP and get children over six months of age vaccinated. We know that under 5-year-olds are an important group that suffer a lot of impact in the flu seasons, they are the group most likely to be hospitalised, particularly the under three's,” she said.
Federal response
A spokeswoman for the federal Department of Health said the government was monitoring "the burden of influenza in the community and the impacts of potential interventions on this burden."
The government has commissioned a report from the Telethon Kids Institute due in mid-2018 which will outline future options for influenza programs.
However, the spokeswoman said that "in order for a vaccine to be listed on the NIP, it must be registered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and recommended by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). To date, PBAC has not recommended expanding the coverage of influenza vaccines to other groups not already covered under the NIP."
Vaccination rates increasing
Despite concern over the influence of so-called anti-vaxxers in recent years, the state's vaccination coverage rates for the NIP diseases have actually increased, Dr Chant said.
“From 2010 to 2017 we’ve seen a 6 per cent increase in children fully vaccinated at 5 years,” she said.
But there are differences in coverage rates across the state.
“There are areas with lower immunisation coverage," Dr Chant said. "Some of the reasons relate to the number of people in the community that hold anti vaccination views, but often it’s about... simple issues around supporting busy families to keep up to date with the schedule.”
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The new report, Child Deaths from Vaccine Preventable Infectious Diseases between 2005 and 2014, from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network and University of Sydney researchers examined child deaths in the state.
The majority of deaths occured in babies under six months of age and were due to influenza, meningococcal disease and pneumococcal disease, while several deaths were due to whooping cough.
The report found that overall, child deaths due to vaccine-preventable diseases are now rare in Australia.
NCIRS Acting Director Kristine Macartney, one of seven authors of the research, encouraged parents to talk to their doctors to ensure their children are fully vaccinated.
