No defence for this needle rejection The anti-vaccine movement is a Western phenomenon. THE statistics tell us that the children of wealthy, educated parents have the best outcomes in life; socio-economic factors have long been reliable indicators on the likely future prospects and health of the next generation. But there is one crucial area where that is no longer the case. Indeed, the children of some of the most privileged pockets of inner suburbia are the most disadvantaged when it comes to being protected against preventable illness and disease. It is those exclusive enclaves of inner-city Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane that have some of the lowest immunisation rates in the country. The National Health Performance Authority figures identified 32 at-risk areas where vaccination levels were 85 per cent or lower in at least one age group. Experts warn that those areas are susceptible to an outbreak of deadly contagious diseases that are entirely preventable. Indeed, any area where the rate of immunisation is below 93 per cent is considered hazardous. There are 77,000 Australian children who are not fully immunised; that's one in 12 one, two- and five-year-olds who are not fully protected. In the City of Melbourne the figures are even more alarming, with one in five five-year-olds not fully immunised. Similar, deplorable results were recorded for the City of Stonnington, home to some of the country's most expensive real estate including Toorak, Armadale, Malvern, Kooyong and South Yarra. These inner-city elites think they know better than medical professionals and have no qualms about putting not only their own children at risk but also the wider community, particularly newborns too young to be immunised. They'd rather listen to junk science promoted by crystal-worshipping crackpots and chanting hippies than conclusive medical evidence that proves vaccines are not linked to autism, no matter how much the anti-vaccers want them to be. It is those same reckless types who are defying new laws in NSW designed to exclude unvaccinated children from childcare centres. A loophole in the legislation allows for children to be accepted if their parents claim a moral or philosophical reason for their failure to immunise their offspring. The number of conscientious objectors has increased to more than 36,000 in Australia. One wonders what is the point of "no jab, no play" laws if parents are granted opportunities to sidestep the regulations. Anti-vaccers are committed to their idiotic cause with an almost religious fervour; if a loophole exists, you can be certain they will use it to avoid immunising their children. The anti-vaccine movement is very much a Western phenomenon, a luxury that dumb but fortunate First World citizens can indulge given that vaccines have been so effective in all but eradicating horrendous diseases. Professor Ian Frazer, inventor of the cervical cancer vaccine, says: "In the developing world there's no argument about vaccines because grandmothers tell their children what the diseases are like. In Australia, grandmothers have never seen the disease because vaccinations have been so successful. SOME anti-vaccer crusaders are so zealous that they fight legal battles and subject their children to unnecessary medical tests to avoid vaccinating them. In recent years the Family Court has been repeatedly called upon to settle disputes between divorced parents fighting over whether their children should be immunised. There will always be a minority who fall for any wild conspiracy they read on the internet but it is remarkable that so many educated professionals would rather listen to nonsense spouted by models and TV presenters instead of the advice of medical experts. Without doubt the most dangerous celebrity is Jenny McCarthy: she has been instrumental in bringing the anti-vaccer agenda into the mainstream in the US. The one-time Playboy bunny has been the poster gal for the movement since she was on Oprah and shared, unchallenged, her belief that vaccines can lead to children suffering autism. She is a big part of the reason one in four Americans believes there is a link between vaccines and autism, despite hundreds of studies that say otherwise. McCarthy is so passionate about the cause there are reports she is suing a media outlet that claimed, wrongly, she had "abandoned her controversial position on vaccines." The anti-vaccine movement will be with us for as long as fools keep having children and putting their trust in pseudo-science instead of doctors. Education programs and awareness campaigns have been ineffective in changing the behaviour of this kooky mob who believe a vast conspiracy is at play to hide the dangers of vaccines. They are impervious to facts and figures. We have tried the carrot approach with government payments linked to children being fully immunised - perhaps it is now time to try the stick approach. One can only hope that in the near future the Victorian Government introduces a version of NSW's "no jab, no play" laws but without the significant wriggle room allowing parents to avoid their responsibilities. It seems ludicrous that our children are afforded less protection than household pets; you can't leave a cat or dog at a kennel without an up-to-date immunisation record but you can send an unvaccinated child to school, kindergarten or childcare facility.