Hello, Wentyl.

Childhood vaccine rates have slumped below crucial herd immunity targets for highly infectious diseases like measles in hundreds of Australian communities. As a mum, it enrages me that instead of heeding the warnings of health officials, some parents are actually gloating about being anti-vaxxers.

They’re even boasting online about ways to exploit national rules so their unvaccinated children can receive the federal taxpayer-funded childcare subsidies. This includes shopping around for a doctor who will falsely sign children off as vaccinated, or is willing to give them a medical exemption.

So much for “no jab, no play”. 

It’s a profoundly worrying development, especially because other children can pay a terrible price for these Facebook warriors' blinkered beliefs.

Our stories, which ran around the country, showcased new data showing just six of 300+ regions in Australia have fully vaccinated 95 per cent of their two-year-olds. Why does this matter? Because that's the key threshold to guarantee the level of "herd immunity" that prevents outbreaks of highly contagious diseases.

Greg and Catherine Hughes have campaigned on the importance of vaccines and herd immunity since losing their son Riley to whooping cough. He was too young to be vaccinated. Picture: Daniel Wilkins

Imagine how Catherine Hughes – whose 32-day-old son Riley died in 2015 after contracting whooping cough before he was old enough to be vaccinated – feels about the anti-vax scepticism that has snowballed since Covid? 

Read our state-specific reports here and be sure to let us know what you think: New South Wales | Victoria | Queensland | South Australia | Tasmania | Northern Territory

Other must-read pieces from the education team in the past week include a controversial gender-neutral parenting advocate who wants others to stop saying things like “good girl” and “brave boy”. Welcome to “human-first” parenting! 

We also have stories about what teachers are really doing on school holidays, the horrifying scale of alleged offending in the nation's most recent childcare abuse prosecution, and whether chucking a misbehaving child's Nintendo Switch out the car window is good parenting.

As always, keep in touch at education@news.com.au – we love to read your feedback and story tips.