Parents are being urged to check their children’s vaccination history before the start of the school year.
Minister for Health, Greg Hunt said parents should ensure that immunisations for conditions such meningococcal, measles, and tetanus were up to date.
“The first three quarters of 2020 saw record results of child immunisation for one-year-olds, two-year-olds and five-year-olds,” Mr Hunt said
“Which is a terrific reflection on Australian families and their dedication to prioritising their children’s health,” he said.
He said COVID-19 vaccines would be made available over the coming months once they were approved for use by the independent Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
“However, it’s critical we protect our children from other harmful, contagious but vaccine preventable diseases now, through immunisation.”
Minister for Government Services, Stuart Robert said families could check their child’s immunisation history online.
“The Medicare online account on myGov and the Express Plus Medicare mobile app will have the information on your child’s latest immunisation status,” Mr Robert said.
“I urge all families who already receive or plan to claim family assistance payments this year to check their child’s immunisation history,” he said.
Mr Robert said the Family Tax Benefit and Child Care Subsidy could be affected if a child’s immunisation status wasn’t up to date.