While much recent vaccination effort has understandably been on protecting the community from COVID-19, Warrnambool parents and carers have not dropped the ball when it comes to early childhood vaccinations.
The Warrnambool municipality continues to remain at or near the top of the table when it comes to immunisation rates across preschool aged children.
Council’s Immunisation Coordinator Alison Elliott was thrilled with the latest results and praised the efforts of Warrnambool’s immunisation providers - and of the parents and carers who were protecting their children against a range of diseases.
“Everyone is talking about COVID, which is understandable, but it’s great to see that we are still recognising the importance of looking after our young people,” Ms Elliott said.
“They may be at a lower risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID but they are still vulnerable to a range of other illnesses and diseases including polio, tetanus, pertussis, diphtheria, meningococcal and chicken pox.”
In the 12-month age group the immunisation rate in Warrnambool as of June 30 was 98.97 per cent while in the two and five year age groups the vaccination rate was 100 per cent.
Mayor Vicki Jellie said the early childhood vaccination rates in Warrnambool had been consistently high over a number of years.
“It’s a collaborative effort that requires dedication from Warrnambool’s doctors and nurses along with parents and carers that give us these great results,” Cr Jellie said.
“As a Council we’re really proud of our health professionals who are doing an outstanding job.
“The COVID pandemic is highlighting the importance of vaccination and parents should feel reassured that their children are also protected against a number of ailments that in the past posed a serious health threat.”
Ms Elliott said the immunisation providers were experiencing unprecedented workloads so achieving the top results was “exceptionally pleasing for our community”.