Child-care Money Lost By Families Vaccine suspect in autism. Vaccination no-shows lose rebate.

Fed - Australia achieves 90 per cent immunisation level target.

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Child-care Money Lost By Families Carina Tan-Van Baren 388 words 4 May 2000 The West Australian TWAU 10 English Copyright West Australian Newspapers Limited, all rights reserved. Immunisation deadline passes with many unregistered CANBERRA MORE than 9000 families - including 1176 in WA - will lose an average $100 a week in child-care payments under a national immunisation push. Parents of children born after January 1, 1996, had until April 30 to prove they were fully immunised and keep their child-care assistance payments. Those who did not want to immunise their children for personal, philosophical, religious or medical grounds could get conscientious objection forms from their doctor or an immunisation provider. According to Community Services Minister Larry Anthony, about 90 per cent of Australian families have taken one of the two options, increasing the national vaccination rate 15 per cent for two-year-olds. From this week, the remainder will lose child-care payments worth up to $96 for one child, $211 for two and $316 for three. Australian Vaccination Awareness Network president Meryl Dorey said the link between immunisation and government child-care benefits could be illegal. "The Constitution specifically says there can be no form of civil conscription for any medical procedure and that is exactly what the Government is doing here," Ms Dorey said. But Mr Anthony rejected the claim, saying there were many options for parents who did not wish to immunise their children. "If you have a conscientious objection then you can sign one of these forms and that, of course, can be used and you can continue to receive child-care assistance payments," he said. Mr Anthony said parents had received a lot of notice, including reminder letters from Centrelink in January, March and April.

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Those who had lost their child-care assistance payments could reapply for them by contacting Centrelink on 131524. To remain eligible for payments, parents without conscientious objection forms had to immunise their children against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and Hib at two, four, six and 18 months of age. Vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella and Hib are required at one year and immunisation for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, measles, mumps and rubella are needed at four to five years. Families who missed the April 30 deadline to provide proof of their child's vaccination status can still provide the information to Centrelink. They will be backpaid any assistance they have lost. Document twau000020010828dw5400510

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Vaccine suspect in autism. By SARAH STOCK. 259 words 22 April 2000 The Australian AUSTLN English (c) 2000 Nationwide News Proprietary Ltd THE combined mumps, measles and rubella vaccine could be responsible for autism in young children and needs to be investigated, according to an international researcher. John O'Leary, director of pathology at the Coombe Women's Hospital in Dublin and a virus detection expert, has told the US Government he found the measles virus in the stomachs of 24 out of 25 children who developed autism after a normal infancy. Professor O'Leary said the virus could have come from the combined vaccine, prompting the US Government to order its health department to investigate whether measles vaccination is linked to autism. The vaccine, administered to Australian children at 12 months and four years of age, has been widely credited in Australia for significantly reducing the number of measles outbreaks and deaths since its inception. National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance deputy director Peter McIntyre said the subject of whether the vaccine was linked to autism had been studied intensively in the past two years. He said when the studies covered children across a broad section of populations they did not find an association between the vaccine and autism. Australian Vaccination Network Incorporated spokeswoman Meryl Dorey said that in the US and the UK autism rates had risen by up to 800 per cent in the years since the measles vaccine was introduced. Ms Dorey called for a moratorium on the measles vaccine until the Australian Government conducted its own research on the vaccine. * SARAH STOCK. (c) Nationwide News Proprietary Ltd, 2000. Document austln0020010804dw4m00n13

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Vaccination no-shows lose rebate. By ANDREW PROBYN. 374 words 4 May 2000 Herald-Sun HERSUN 8 English (c) 2000 Herald and Weekly Times Limited NINE thousand households have been stripped of up to $316 a week in childcare rebates for failing to immunise their children. Families of 10,303 children received letters yesterday advising them the payments would stop because they have not provided proof their children had been vaccinated. Childcare Assistance is worth $96 a week for families with one child, $211 for families with two and $316 for three. Of the 9000 households to lose the rebate, 1077 are in Melbourne or eastern Victoria and 853 in western Victoria. Under the scheme introduced by federal Health Minister Michael Wooldridge, the payments became conditional on proof of immunisation against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and polio at two, four, six and 18 months. Vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella and Hib are also required at 12 months and a new hepatitis B injection will apply to children born after May 1. Dr Wooldridge's scheme has exceeded its original aim of 90 per cent immunisation of children under four. More than 245,800 children have been immunised under the scheme but 12,050 others were exempted after their parents signed Centrelink forms claiming conscientious objection to the vaccinations for personal or religious reasons. Another 139 children were exempted from the scheme on medical grounds. Parents had until April 30 to have their children vaccinated or have their conscientious objections accepted before the payments are stopped. Community Services Minister Larry Anthony said families had received plenty of warning to comply with the immunisation requirements. "The government's aim is not to cancel people's childcare assistance but to increase immunisation levels," Mr Anthony said. But Vaccination Awareness Network president Meryl Dorey, who has refused to have her two youngest children immunised, said the government could be acting illegally by forcing medical procedures on patients.

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A spokeswoman for Dr Wooldridge said Ms Dorey's claim was nonsense. "It is simply a condition on government financial assistance that parents address the immunisation of their children," Serena Williams said. "No one is making these people have their children immunised, they still have a choice." Anyone wishing to reapply for childcare assistance should contact Centrelink on 131 524. (C) 2000 Herald and Weekly Times Limited. Document hersun0020010808dw5400n5v

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Fed - Australia achieves 90 per cent immunisation level target. By Elizabeth Gosch 451 words 3 May 2000 16:51 Australian Associated Press AAP English (c) 2000 AAP Information Services Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. Available for personal use but not for sale or redistribution for compensation of any kind without the prior written permission of AAP. CANBERRA, May 3, AAP - Australia has achieved its goal to have 90 per cent of children immunised, Community Services Minister Larry Anthony said today. Linking child care assistance payments to immunisation boosted vaccination rates by 15 per cent, protecting more children from disease and illness than ever before, Mr Anthony said. "Over 90 per cent of families with children under four years of age receiving child care assistance met the immunisation requirements - a fantastic result 15 per cent higher than the 76 per cent national average for two-year-olds," Mr Anthony said. However, about 9,000 families will lose their child care rebates from May 1 because they failed to either immunise their children or provide a conscientious objection or medical exemption. The families of 10,303 children will be advised by mail today that their child care payments would be stopped. They will lose up to $96 a week for one child, $211 for two children and $316 for three. Overall, 245,816 children complied with the scheme which linked child care assistance payments to children's immunisation status. Another 12,050 were conscientious objectors whose families signed forms for Centrelink and 139 children were exempted on medical grounds. To remain eligible for the rebates, families had to immunise their children for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Hib at two, four, six and 18 months. Vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella and Hib are required at 12 months and immunisation for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella are needed at four to five years. Families who have lost their entitlement to childcare rebates can reapply by contacting Centrelink on 13 15 24. Mr Anthony said the government was not being heavy-handed, as families had received plenty of warning to comply or declare their objections to immunisation. "We don't believe it is heavy-handed. We have given adequate notice. We are strongly committed to ensuring that children are immunised," he told ABC radio. Page 7 of 8 2012 Factiva, Inc. All rights reserved.

"The government's aim is not to cancel people's child care assistance, but to increase immunisation levels." But Vaccination Awareness Network president Meryl Dorey said the government could be acting illegally by linking the rebates with immunisation. "The constitution specifically says there can be no form of civil conscription for any medical procedure and that is exactly what the government is doing here," she said. Ms Duffy has refused to have her two youngest children immunised. (c) 2000 AAP Information Services Pty Ltd All rights reserved. Available for personal use but not for sale or redistribution for compensation of any kind without the prior written permission of AAP. Document aap0000020020307dw530365z

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