Medical & Dental - Vaccinations

To find out what the schedule is for vaccinations for children whether they be newborns, toddlers or teenagers, see http://www.population.health.wa.gov.au/Communicable/resources/WA%20Non-Indigenous%20Vaccination%20Schedule.pdf

 

MMR - Single vaccines are not available in WA for MMR. The triple vaccine has been in use for many years and is standard practice. The UK is one of the few countries that had the whole debate about MMR and the link with bowel disease and/or autism, the rest of the world only has the triple vaccine and just gets on with it. If you want the single vaccines, then you have to import them at great expense (word is that it's around $800 per vaccine) and inconvenience. Most Aussie kids (ie all the ones who have been vaccinated) have had the triple MMR vaccine and have had no reported problems.

Hepatitis B Vaccine - Unlike the UK, children in Australia are given a Hepatitis B vaccine. If your child hasn't has this vaccine then they will need it and it should be picked up by your Doctor to give it to them the next time a vaccine is due. The Hep B is a single vaccine (it isn't combined with other vaccines like MMR) and is administered in 3 stages, the 2nd vaccines is scheduled for a month after the original is given and the 3rd vaccine is scheduled for 6 months after the 2nd.