Dachel Wake Up: Australia: Wealthy, Healthy and Unvaccinated
By Anne Dachel
June 8, 2017, The Age (Australia): Melbourne vaccination data: immunisation rates not improving in wealthy inner-city suburbs
Craig Butt, Rania Spooner
Four of the wealthiest, healthiest suburbs of Melbourne have the worst child vaccination rates in the state, in part because of parents' complacency about the risks from infectious diseases.
In Burwood East, South Yarra, St Kilda and Brighton, about 85 per cent of children were vaccinated, eight percentage points below the nationwide figure. …
"The more highly skilled and educated populations are clearly questioning vaccinations," Dr Danchin said, and were more likely to be worried about vaccines than unable to get to immunisation appointments.
She said policies such as "no jab no pay" would naturally have less impact on wealthier parents who either don't access government payments or don't need them as much.
"Education is not enough. There needs to be both communication and education strategies to effectively address parents' vaccine concerns," she said.
So the more affluent and educated parents are, the more likely they are to question vaccines. What does that tell us?
Actually it's very hard to move on from the opening sentence: "Four of the wealthiest, healthiest suburbs of Melbourne..." HEALTHIEST? Shouldn't they be the most disease-ridden, with the sickliest kids?
Peter
That's a beautiful idea.
John
Posted by: John Stone | June 12, 2017 at 06:36 PM
My goodness! Shouldn't the public health agencies take a look at why those suburbs are the healthiest? Do they have a lower incidence of autism than the other suburbs? Maybe money is the magic ingredient? Let's give out more money to the poorer suburbs and see if their health improves.
We could ask Bill and Melinda to transfer their allegiance from vaccines and just give poor people money! Cut out the middle man as it were.
Posted by: Peter Miles | June 12, 2017 at 05:39 PM
"Four of the wealthiest, healthiest suburbs of Melbourne have the worst child vaccination rates in the state, in part because of parents' complacency about the risks from infectious diseases.'
Followed closely by:
"The more highly skilled and educated populations are clearly questioning vaccinations," Dr Danchin said, and were more likely to be worried about vaccines than unable to get to immunisation appointments."
--------------------------
So, which is it ... Parents residing in the "wealthiest, healthiest suburbs are COMPLACENT about the risks from infectious diseases ... or .. are those very same parents WORRIED about the vaccines?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Posted by: Bob Moffit | June 09, 2017 at 07:24 AM