By news.com.au
PARENTS across Australia will no longer receive free whooping cough vaccinations because it is not effective in protecting newborns from the potentially deadly illness, a parliamentary committee has heard.
Since 2009 all states and territories except Tasmania have at some stage introduced the free parental vaccination program in an effort to shield infants from the illness.
Whooping cough, a highly infectious airborne bacterial disease, can kill if complications cause lack of oxygen to the brain.
It is most serious in babies under a year old, with newborns susceptible as they are unable to be vaccinated until they are at least four months old.
But at a Victorian Parliamentary Accounts and Estimates Committee hearing on Tuesday, Department of Health divisional executive director Chris Brook said states were abandoning the "cocooning" program from June 30.
He said the national Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) had determined vaccinating parents was not effective in protecting newborns, after two pharmaceutical manufacturers made submissions to the PBAC.
"The PBAC, which is totally independent and very expert, has determined that there is no clinical effectiveness of this strategy," Professor Brook said.
He said this had made it clear the cocooning strategy should not be continued.
"So all jurisdictions who have been in this program will be effectively ceasing the cocooning strategy as of the end of June this year."
In the same hearing, Victorian Health Minister David Davis said the initial decision to fund free parental vaccination was made "in light of the best evidence that we had at that time".
But asked by Labor MP Jill Hennessy if the government was "taking a massive gamble" withdrawing the free parental vaccine, given that whooping cough can kill babies, Mr Davis supported the decision to now withdraw it.
"I make decisions of this type on the basis of the evidence that's put to me by the department and by clinical experts," Mr Davis said.
"There has been a national committee meet to look at this and to make decisions on the basis of the best scientific evidence available ... the evidence is that the strategy has not been effective."
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