Pilbara vaccinations fall behind

Health experts have expressed concern over alarmingly low immunisation rates among children starting school in the Pilbara.

With only 68.18 per cent of five-year-olds in the East Pilbara vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough), the shire – which takes in Newman, Marble Bar and Jigalong – has the lowest immunisation rate among all local government areas in WA.

Port Hedland doesn’t fare much better, rating 9th lowest, with a rate of 82.76 per cent and falling well short of the 90 per cent needed to achieve so-called “herd immunity”.

Pilbara Health Network chief executive Chris Pickett said the figures, in particular those for Hedland, came as a surprise.

Mr Pickett said the sheer remoteness and large Aboriginal population of the East Pilbara would have contributed to its low rate.

“It’s remoteness, it’s access to services, it’s education, awareness, it’s about people being able to get to a clinic – they’re the usual factors,” he said.

Providing a possible explanation for the low immunisation rates recorded in Mosman Park, Nedlands and Port Hedland, Peter Richmond, head of the vaccine trial group at the Telethon Institute, said rates were sometimes lower in affluent areas because working parents were either too busy or had decided against the injections after researching them on the internet.

Dr Richmond said there were also places where a culture had developed favouring alternative and natural therapies, prompting some parents not to allow their children to have traditional medical vaccinations.

“We know with herd immunity we get the best protection for the community and for that we need to keep immunisation rates above 90 per cent,” Dr Richmond said.

“This is a concern, particularly when we see how much whooping cough there is at the moment. It’s a timely reminder that we do need to do better with the amount of children who are vaccinated.”