PROTECTIVE

Australia Considers Banning Unvaccinated Kids From Childcare Centers

In childcare centers and preschools.

The Australian government is considering legislation that would ban unvaccinated children from preschools and childcare centers, with the prime minister warning that unvaccinated kids put others at risk. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called for nationwide legislation to keep unvaccinated children out of centers where other children could be infected. Citing a recent case in which a one-month-old baby died of whooping cough—a disease for which there is a vaccination—Turnbull said vaccinations should be taken more seriously. “This is not a theoretical exercise—this is life and death,” Turnbull said. “If a parent says, ‘I’m not going to vaccinate my child,’ they are not simply putting their child at risk, they are putting everybody else’s children at risk, too,” he warned. Three states—Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales—already require children to be vaccinated to attend childcare centers. But a recent poll showed that about 5 percent of children still are not vaccinated, a figure that many believe is too high.