Child vaccination rates fall to five-year low amid distrust of trained professionals

Vaccination rates are continuing to fall among children at all key milestones, with the number of fully vaccinated 12-month-olds slipping by about four per cent from 2020 to 2025.

Full coverage rates for two-year-olds dropped below 90 per cent last year, down from 92 per cent in 2020, 2025 data from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance has found.

Rates for five-year-olds also dropped from 94 per cent to 92 per cent in that time frame, while children are getting vaccinated on-time at rates lower than before the pandemic.

Rates for full coverage among one and two year olds have tended to fluctuate around the low 90 per cent mark dating back to the early 2000s, according to historical data from the Australian Government’s Health Department, demonstrating a constant struggle to get rates up to herd immunity levels of 95 per cent.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler is concerned rates among young children are continuing to decline, but says the trend is worldwide, pointing to online misinformation and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There’s a level of hesitancy, there’s a level of fatigue that follows the pandemic, and frankly, there’s a proliferation of mis- and disinformation online about vaccines as well,” Mr Butler said on Wednesday.

Information campaigns for childhood immunisation needed to be reviewed, the Minister said, and ads were currently targeted at countering misinformation and people “sitting on the fence”.

“But I have said that it is time for us to have a look at the research and see whether in the future different campaigns might be required because this is becoming quite a structural decline,” Mr Butler said.

Maryke Steffens leads the National Vaccination Insights project, at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.

“There’s been a trend of (vaccine) coverage in all of those age groups declining a little bit year on year since around 2020, when we were starting the Covid-19 pandemic,” Dr Steffens said.

“Each year it’s not a massive drop, but it’s consistently dropping each year, which is the worrying thing,” she told NewsWire.

Measles and whooping cough infections are steadily rising across the country, which Dr Steffens sees as a “canary in the coal mine”.

“If rates keep dropping, you’ll start to see an uptick in other diseases as well like Diphtheria and polio which, you know, goodness who would have thought we would get to this place. I think it’s a real worry.”

Diphtheria was never fully eradicated in Australia, though polio was officially eradicated in 2000 and the last locally acquired case was in 1972.

The 2025 National Vaccination Insights project found the three most common barriers to vaccination are negative beliefs about vaccine safety, lack of trust in healthcare providers, and parents not prioritising vaccination.

“This year, unfortunately, the barrier that increased the most was parents not trusting information about vaccines from their doctor or the immunisation nurse,” Dr Steffens said.

Practical barriers like having to pay for a GP visit and finding time for appointments are also common.

“Yes, there are falls in parents’ confidence in vaccines, but I think that we need to also pay attention to the fact that some parents are telling us that it’s difficult for them to get their kids vaccinated,” she said.

“Parents did report to us that it can be challenging to find a bulk billing GP, particularly in regional areas.”

The vast majority of Australians know vaccines are important and vaccinating their kids is the best way to protect them.

“Parenthood can be really challenging and it can be really difficult to prioritise kids’ vaccinations when there’s so much else going on in your life,” Dr Steffens said.

“But it’s one of the best ways to keep your child healthy, and it’s worth prioritising.”

But parents report feeling distressed by vaccines, particularly after the US’s Centre for Disease Control scaled back the number of recommended vaccines for kids from 17 to 11.

“Hearing those things come out of the US, hearing the CDC no longer have a really firm message around vaccines and autism, that vaccines don’t cause autism; that’s making some parents feel distressed,” Dr Steffens said.

“(And) worried about vaccinating their kids because here they’re getting mixed messages and a lot of misinformation coming from overseas.”

UNSW School of Population Health social scientist, Holly Seale, says scare campaigns do not lift vaccine rates. Campaigns like ones from the NSW state government worked best; simple messages about staying vaccinated and healthy to spend more time with your grandparents or to go on holidays.

“We know for some people that unfortunately, death does still happen from these vaccine-preventable diseases, but for the most part, for kids … getting these diseases means time off school, it means time away from the things that they enjoy like catching up with friends,” Professor Seale said.

“Getting vaccinated is to reduce our risk of missing out on life.”

As a healthcare Professor, the mother-of-two empathises with time-poor parents.

“I just went and had my covid and my flu (vaccines) at the same time; convenience - let’s make this as easy as possible for everybody.

“It’s not easy to find time, people with busy lives, caring responsibilities. Let’s make it easy.”

Pharmacies now being a place to get vaccines and speak to another trained health professional was also a large help, Professor Seale said.

“Unfortunately, misinformation we saw through covid can have an impact. And certainly, it’s important that we don’t dismiss it,” she said.

“People have questions and it is about taking those questions to your GP, because friends and family can share their stories, but sometimes we get it wrong.

“Ultimately having a good conversation with a pharmacist or a GP really helps settle down any of that misunderstanding you might have.”