Professor Ian Frazer says childcare centres should have right to ban unvaccinated children Professor Ian Frazer, immunologist and developer of the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil. Picture: Patrick Hamilton Source: The Daily Telegraph CHILDCARE centres should have the right to ban unvaccinated children, says the inventor of the cervical cancer vaccine. Former Australian of the Year Professor Ian Frazer also wants new parents to have to decide on vaccination two months after the birth. And in the absence of a severe adverse reaction, those who start the free program should have to complete it. "You have the right to choose to take part, but once you've chosen to take part, you should complete the whole program," Prof Frazer said. Unvaccinated children shouldn't be banned from school, because of the importance of education. But their parents should be forced to justify in writing their reasons for refusing free immunisation, Prof Frazer said. Unlike compulsory education, childcare could be used as a lever to get parents to rethink a refusal to vaccinate, he said. "In childcare centres, vaccination may not be regarded as optional," he said. I think it is in the best interests of all children. However, he said there should be no blanket law banning unvaccinated children from childcare. It should be left up to individual centres. "Making laws is never the way to solve a problem," Prof Frazer said. Education is the right way to solve the problem. His comments came as the GAVI Alliance announced that 30 million girls in 40 of the world's poorest countries would get access to the cervical cancer vaccine that Prof Frazer developed. The alliance, which is funded by governments including Australia's, has negotiated a price for developing countries of just $4.40 per dose. The vaccine can cost more than $100 in developed countries. Prof Frazer said that of the 275,000 women who die of cervical cancer every year, more than 85 per cent were in low-income countries where the incidence of cervical cancer was higher and there were few screening programs. Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said the distribution of the cervical cancer vaccine in developing countries could save the lives of countless women around the world. Prof Frazer said that unlike some Australian parents, parents in developing countries were keen to vaccinate their children against diseases whose devastating consequences they were very familiar with. "In the developing world, there is no argument about vaccination because grandmothers tell their children what the diseases are like," Prof Frazer said. "In Australia, grandmothers have never seen the diseases because vaccination has been so successful," he said.