It’s a fact of life that until you’re legally recognised as an adult at age 18, your parents generally call the shots – and for many kids, we mean that literally.
With programs such as “No Jab, No Play” around the country, state governments have made the importance of vaccinations, and the herd immunity they give to children who can’t be vaccinated, clear – and the majority of parents ‘play’ by the rules.
But what happens to the kids whose parents refuse the jab – commonly known as anti-vaxxers? Well, as is being reported this week, they often they grow up and decide to vaccinate themselves.
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The Courier Mail reports that in Queensland, some teenagers as young as 15 are increasingly rebelling against their anti-vax parents by organising their own vaccinations.
Doctors have called children using the state’s law, which allows them to seek medical treatment as independents, ‘Generation V’.
Queensland is currently the only state which allows teenagers from 15 years of age to immunise themselves. In parts of Queensland, the rate of children being immunised in accordance with the recommended schedule is as low as 88.93 per cent – which doesn’t meet the Australian Medical Association’s national target of 95 per cent, The Courier Mail reported.
For example, in a Reddit thread called My parents denied me vaccinations as a child. Today, I was finally able to take my health into my own hands, one person shared their vaccination card that had now been signed.
The post went viral, with 179,000 upvotes and almost 6000 comments, generally in support of the person’s decision.
One poster wrote in response, “Thank you for doing this! I have autoimmune disorders that make my vaccinations pretty much useless, and herd immunity allows me to survive without fearing these preventable diseases.”
