Impact of Australian mandatory 'No Jab, No Pay' and 'No Jab, No Play' immunisation policies on immunisation services, parental attitudes to vaccination and vaccine uptake, in a tertiary paediatric hospital, the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: 'No Jab, No Play' and 'No Jab, No Pay' mandatory immunisation policies were introduced in the state of Victoria and Australia-wide, respectively, in January 2016. They restrict access to childcare/kindergarten and family assistance payments respectively, for under-vaccinated children. We aimed to describe the proportion of attendees to immunisation services of a tertiary hospital, the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne (RCH), who were motivated by the policies to discuss or catch-up vaccination. We explored the association between motivation by policies, vaccine hesitancy (VH) and intent to seek medical exemption, with vaccine-uptake. METHODS: Parents/Guardians and clinicians ..