‘Concerning’: Childhood Vaccination Rates Decline in Australia Since COVID-19

Childhood vaccination rates in Australia have dropped since COVID-19, posing ongoing challenges to preventing diseases, a report has found. The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) report (pdf) looks into how the pandemic affected vaccination rates in Australia. The report found that during the height of the pandemic (2021-2022), vaccination rates for children at key milestones dropped from 94.2 percent to 93.3 percent at 12 months, 92.1 percent to 91.0 percent at 24 months, and 94.0 percent to 93.4 percent at 60 months. NCIRS Associate Professor Frank Beard said the decline in fully vaccinated children is “concerning.” “Younger children are generally more at risk of severe disease, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and socio-economically disadvantaged children even more so. Vaccination at the earliest appropriate age, in line with the National Immunisation Program schedule, is important to protect these children,” he said....