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Every parent wants the best for their child
but as children grow into adolescence and behave
with greater independence and less predictability,
it's often difficult to know how we can best protect
and guide them but one way we can continue
to safeguard our children is to have them vaccinated
and the reasons for doing it are well known.
Because it stops diseases, coming,
spreading around the community and we've got of rid
of things like polio and whatever that used to be really,
you know, widespread and terrible
and we don't have it now.
I'd prefer the injection to prevent rather
than treat afterwards.
I think it's really helpful in the prevention of, you know,
everything that we're vaccinated against.
It's a preventative thing so it's like insurance.
You don't think you need it at the time
but it's just better to have.
However, despite the documented benefits,
some people don't vaccinate their children due
to some common misconceptions --
If there's just one case of any ill effects from vaccination
or anything, it just gets blown out of proportion.
And out of fear not always --
or ignorance, not always understanding the
real ramifications.
'Cause there's rumours going around that
if you get vaccinated, you can get really sick.
The fact is, vaccinations help defend
against serious diseases that if caught their wild form can be
dangerous and result in hospitalisation and even death.
Early childhood vaccinations protect
against 16 vaccine preventable diseases; however,
the level of immunity wanes over time,
which is why the WA Health Department is offering a free
booster vaccination program for year 8 students
to ensure they remain protected.
Early in the year, parents will receive an information pack
which describes the vaccinations
and the diseases those vaccinations protect against
and also included in that pack will be a consent form
that we'll ask parents to sign and send back
in with their child to school.
The adolescent vaccinations are booster doses of diphtheria,
tetanus, pertussis and chicken pox to guarantee immunity
into adulthood plus there's an additional vaccine for HPV
or human papillomavirus,
which is a disease many people are unaware of.
Well, I don't think I could tell you a whole lot.
I'm not sure; actually I don't know anything about that.
Is that the one they immunise girls for?
HPV is a highly contagious infection that can be spread
through *** activity.
It affects both boys and girls and is associated with cancer
of the throat, mouth and ***.
Up to 80% of the population will be infected with HPV
at some time in their lives so it's important both girls
and boys are vaccinated before they become sexually active.
Parents who don't vaccinate their children increase the risk
of disease not only for their own children
but for others throughout the community.
My kids were exposed through somebody who had --
her girls had chicken pox, where I had had my elder one immunised
but my youngest one who's 2 months got chicken pox
and as a result, she's gone on to have shingles later in life
as well, so I was very upset with that.
While Western Australia is generally protected,
we still get outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases
like whooping cough and measles often
because travellers bring these diseases in from countries
where they still circulate.
If you're not vaccinated and catch a disease like chicken pox
as an adult, the effects can be far more severe.
Infertility and death, two worst case scenarios,
aside from the scarring and the fact
that it makes you really, really sick.
And it was incredibly severe, the kind of pain --
he had the chicken pox occur
on his eyelids and in his mouth.
So it's really important that children get these vaccines,
including the year 8 booster doses
for the particular diseases.
Immunisation works and it benefits the whole community
by minimising the spread of infectious
and potentially fatal diseases.
If I had one message for parents,
it would be to please don't miss this opportunity
to protect your child.
Look out for the information pack that will be coming
to you early this year and sign the consent form
and send it back in with your child.
For more information about the diseases protected
against by the adolescent vaccinations,
visit the Healthy WA website.