- WA welcomes Federal Government's meningococcal vaccine announcement
- MenACWY vaccine for children 12 months of age is finally added to the National Immunisation Program after Federal Government's silence on issue
- McGowan Labor Government's MenACWY vaccine for one to four-year-old (inclusive) children continues
A free meningococcal ACWY vaccine for children 12 months of age has been added to the National Immunisation Program after a long period of uncertainty.
Health Minister Roger Cook welcomed the Federal announcement today which follows the McGowan Labor Government's lead on a vaccination program for children aged one to four (inclusive).
The Federal Government's decision means children at the age of 12 months will be able to access the free vaccine which covers the A, C, W and Y strains from July 2018 under the Commonwealth's National Immunisation Program. However, no catch-up vaccinations had been planned.
Mr Cook confirmed the State Government's $5.7 million program to reduce the incidence of meningococcal disease among one to four years old (inclusive), the more vulnerable age group, will still be available in Western Australia throughout 2018.
The State Government is currently funding two other meningococcal ACWY vaccination programs, one for teenagers in Year 10 in 2018 and one for Aboriginal communities within regional Western Australia.
For more information on all available vaccines, visit http://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/immunisation
Comments attributed to Health Minister Roger Cook:
"I'm pleased the Federal Government has finally come to its senses after dragging their heels on this issue for so long. We have repeatedly asked for the Federal Government to act and they failed to take action, so we just had to.
"On behalf of Western Australian families, I thank the Federal Government for finally acting.
"The State Government's MenACWY vaccine program for children aged one to four will still continue for the remainder of 2018 as we had intended. Western Australian children at 12 months of age can access the free State Government vaccine now rather than wait another six months.
"The Commonwealth has not planned to provide catch-up doses of the MenACWY vaccine to children two through to four years of age, which means our State Government program is still working overtime to cover the gap.
"Minister Hunt's claims that we introduced a State Government program to foreshadow the Federal decision has really taken the shine off what really is welcomed news.
"The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee holding a closed out of session meeting after we made our announcement just shows we had to force their hand to speed up the process.
"We want to ensure that Western Australian children are protected under the vaccines available to them and we have tried our best to deliver what we can within the constraints we face.
"We could have just bought the Federal Government's wait and see games but instead we chose to act and to protect vulnerable children against this disease because we had no confidence if they were ever going to act.
"Nevertheless they've delivered despite it being late and appearing begrudgingly but we're not fazed by this nonsense.
"My focus is on the health of Western Australian families and their children and I will continue to make our Federal Government accountable for vaccination because it is a Commonwealth program."
Minister's office - 6552 6500
Notes:
Meningococcal disease is an uncommon, but sometimes life-threatening illness. At any one time, about 10 per cent of healthy people carry meningococcal bacteria harmlessly in their nose or throat, and do not become ill.
Rarely, however, a small proportion of people will develop serious invasive infections of the blood and/or the membranes that line the spinal cord and brain. Last year, WA had 46 cases of meningococcal disease, six of which were fatal. The highest attack rate occurred among children younger than five years of age.
Parents should contact their local GP or Child Health Clinic to schedule an appointment for their child to receive the vaccine.
- The MenACWY vaccination program will not prevent cases caused by meningococcal serogroup B (MenB) strains, so some MenB infections may still occur.
- MenB illness is currently less common in children than that caused by the four strains contained in the MenACWY vaccine.
