New research reveals a worrying pattern of practice in Australian health care in which some unvaccinated children are being refused care by health care providers.

The latest Australian Child Health Poll has found that one in six Australian children who are not up-to-date with their vaccines have been refused care by a health care provider.

Director of the Child Health Poll, paediatrician Dr Anthea Rhodes said that while in the United States a clinician’s right to refuse care to an unvaccinated child has been a topic for some time, this poll suggests a worrying pattern of practice not previously identified in Australia.

“All children, regardless of their vaccination status, have an equal right to health care,” Dr Rhodes said.

“While some medical professionals will argue that unvaccinated children can present a risk to other patients, we must remember that children aren’t making these choices about vaccination for themselves. By turning them away, health care providers not only deny health care to a child, but remove the possibility of educating parents and helping them to eventually choose to vaccinate,” Dr Rhodes added.

Other key findings show that:

• The vast majority of Australian parents support childhood vaccination and keep their children’s vaccines up-to-date.
• 74 per cent of parents believe they should be informed about the number of children not up-to-date with vaccines in their child’s school, kindergarten or child care centre.
• Seven out of ten parents said that knowing the percentage of under-vaccinated children in a school or centre would influence their decision to send their child to that facility.
• Nearly three quarters of parents across Australia support a ‘No Jab, No Play’ policy, believing children who are not up-to-date with vaccines should be refused access to child care or kindergarten.
• Many Australian parents are confused about whether to delay vaccines when a child has a minor illness with nearly half (47 per cent) incorrectly saying vaccination should be delayed in a well child on antibiotics, and one in five (22 per cent) in a child who has had a local reaction to a previous vaccine, such as swelling or redness.
• Despite extensive medical research showing no causal link, one in ten Australian parents believe that vaccines can cause autism, and a further 30 per cent are unsure.

The Australian Child Health Poll is a national survey of Australian households shedding new light on the big issues in contemporary child and adolescent health – as told by the Australian public.

For more findings, or to sign-up to the quarterly newsletter, visit childhealthpoll.org.au.