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May 09, 2003

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

“Parents Face the Pain: A$450 Sting for Shots”

Sydney Daily Telegraph (www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au) (05/09/03) P. 3; Dunlevy, Sue

The cost of immunizing children is Australia may reach as high as A$450 dollars unless the government sets aside funds in the budget to pay for three new vaccinations.  Among the new shots the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization has ordered  is a pneumococcal vaccine for infants and a vaccination against chickenpox that is recommended for children between the ages of 18 months and 10 to 13 years.  The advisory committee has also recommended that teenagers get a catch-up dose of the whooping cough vaccine.  The addition of the three new vaccinations to the Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule would cost the government another A$100 million a year.  Sources say the government will probably not be able to cover the extra shots due to budget constraints; however, the government has not yet commented on whether it would fund the vaccines.  If the government does not agree to cover the shots, parents could end up spending as much as A$450 for the three doses of the pneumococcal vaccine and A$60 for the chickenpox vaccine.

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