The Department of Health is reminding parents of Year 7, 8 and 10 students to sign and return their immunisation consent forms to ensure their children don't miss out on important, free vaccinations.
Senior Medical Advisor in Communicable Disease Control, Professor Paul Effler said the vaccinations helped protect against serious illnesses including whooping cough, invasive meningococcal disease, and cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV) infections.
"In 2019, parents of students in Years 7 and 8 will once again be offered the opportunity to have their child receive the HPV vaccine - as well as a booster dose of dTpa vaccine," he said.
"Australia became the first country in the world to offer a school-based government-funded HPV vaccination program to prevent cervical and other cancers back in 2007.
"This program has already resulted in a significant decline in rates of genital warts and pre-cancerous cervical lesions among young Australians.
"In 2018 alone, more than 28,000 WA students in Year 8 received HPV and pertussis-tetanus-diphtheria vaccinations."
Professor Effler said Year 10 students would again receive the meningococcal ACWY vaccine to combat an increase in potentially deadly disease.
More than 26,000 Year 10 students received the vaccine through the school-based program in 2018.
Professor Effler said students would receive consent forms and information packs from their school early in Term 1. Parents must sign and return the consent forms for a child to receive the free vaccinations in the convenience of their school setting.
"Look out for the consent pack and form, and return the completed form to the school as soon as possible," he said.
