THE proportion of Australian children who are fully immunised continues to rise, but significant variation remains across local communities, according to a report released yesterday by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The report, Healthy Communities: Immunisation rates for children in 2015--16, shows that about 93% of Australian five-year-olds were fully immunised in 2015--16.
This is an improvement on 90% registered in 2011--12, but still below the national target of 95%, the penetration level at which herd immunity is most effective.
"Immunisation is a safe and effective way of reducing the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases in the community and protecting against potentially serious health problems," AIHW spokesperson Michael Frost said.
"The good news is that for the first time, all 31 of Australia's PHN areas now have immunisation rates for five year olds above 90%," Frost said, adding that the gap between the areas with the highest and lowest immunisation rates has "started to shrink".
Detailed early childhood immunisation results at three levels of geography are available at myhealthycommunities.gov.au.
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