Kyly Clarke has hit out at parents who don’t vaccinate

Kyly Clarke has hit out at parents who don’t educate themselves about vaccinations, saying it was a “no brainer” when she immunised her daughter, Kelsey Lee.

Ms Clarke, who is married to former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke, said “prevention is better than cure” when it comes to raising children, and that parents need to be better educated when it comes to vaccinations.

“For me it was a no brainer,” Ms Clarke told news.com.au.

“My mum always instilled in me that prevention is better than cure and that has also been my motto and I feel that’s my core values as well.

“I can’t speak for other parents, because everyone chooses to bring a child in to this world.”

Kyly has joined the #KnowMeningococcal campaign to better educate parents about the signs and symptoms of meningococcal disease. She said she refuses to let her daughter around a sick child.

“I’m very mindful of the relationships she [Kelsey Lee] has with other children,” Ms Clarke said.

“If I see a child with a runny nose, Kelsey Lee is not going to be there, and that’s OK because that’s my decision.”

“I don’t personally understand [not vaccinating] because I haven’t personally had a conversation with someone who isn’t vaccinating their child,” Ms Clarke added.

“What I can deal with is the vaccination giving Kelsey Lee a fever, and me having a clingy baby for two days.

“What I can’t fathom is the trauma that can be instilled on Kelsey Lee and the rest of the family if I wasn’t to do that [vaccinate] and she was to catch a disease.”

Kyly added that there is a lot of vaccine misinformation out there, and that parents need to better educate themselves through stronger communication with their GPs.

“Parents are not meant to be GPs,” Ms Clarke said.

“But we are meant to have great communication with GPs and we should … not be afraid to ask questions about is in the immunisations and also about what [vaccinations the children] may be missing.”

Know Meningococcal

93 percent of Australian parents believe that they know what meningococcal disease is, but on average nearly a third of Australian parents (28%) are not fully aware of the facts about the disease.

A national awareness campaign #KnowMeningococcal is launching in partnership with Kyly Clarke to encourage parents to know more about the devastating and potentially life-threatening bacterial infection. Find out more about the campaign here.

Share your comments below.

17 Comments

- - mom94125 said
  - 05 Oct 2017
    7:59 pm
it is good to get awareness out there either way. everybody should be vaccinated

- - june11 said
  - 10 Jul 2017
    10:46 pm
Any baby or child takes time to build up the immune system. I wouldn’t avoid contact in risky areas until my baby was old enough and has had vaccinations. Visitors should not go if they have anything a baby or parents could catch at all.

- - jacqbeckett said
  - 01 Jul 2017
    3:38 pm
I agree for what kyly said but really would she have to keep a child away if it had a running nose?? okay no daycare, no playcentres, no school, check on every child and make sure they are 110% better etc… think it may be a little overboard on that but preventing the disease is good.

- - mom112217 said
  - 30 Jun 2017
    1:32 pm
Good for Kyly for speaking out.

- - mom160421 said
  - 30 Jun 2017
    12:20 pm
I too agree that prevention is better than cure.

- - mom254086 said
  - 30 Jun 2017
    9:35 am
No Brainer, very poor choice of words,
My 18 year old daughter is intellectually disabled, she cannot communicate is in nappies and epileptic, due to an adverse reaction. I am educated on vaccines NOW and had to learn the hard way. I am her full time carer. Do you know what is in the vaccines and what brand your child has received? Talk to people who have been affected to know the other side, we aren’t anti vaxers just parents who were trying to right thing for their child and it all went horribly wrong. A lot more can be done to improve vaccine safety but unfortunately the media only tells one side.

http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/Handbook10-home~handbook10-tools~handbook10-appendices~handbook10-appendix3#table-a-3-1

- - mom93821 said
  - 30 Jun 2017
    8:54 am
The bonus of having a public profile is getting the vaccination message out there.

- - Ellen said
  - 30 Jun 2017
    2:43 am
I agree that prevention is better then cure.

- - nealsq said
  - 29 Jun 2017
    11:14 pm
Well done on speaking out, I agree with her position totally especially since two of my babies were high risk because of their prematurity and one of my best friends being a cancer survivor with a compromised immune system

- - mom101628 said
  - 29 Jun 2017
    9:19 pm
Good on her for being a role model and for being part of the meningococcal campaign. Thie horrible disease can strike down at any age – so be aware of it.

- - mom183717 said
  - 29 Jun 2017
    8:15 pm
Each to their own… I agree tho

- - mom206279 said
  - 29 Jun 2017
    7:52 pm
So good to see such a high profile mum advocating for this!

- - rovermum said
  - 29 Jun 2017
    5:34 pm
It is a no-brainer for me too. I will never understand the misinformation and misconceptions and untruths surrounding vaccinations. They clearly work. It’s about protecting our young, most innocent and vulnerable in society. A no-brainer.

- - snazzy007 said
  - 29 Jun 2017
    5:26 pm
We should make use of modern medicine and its pros not be heading into dark ages by not vaccinating . Good she showed her support.

- - mom81879 said
  - 29 Jun 2017
    3:48 pm
It’s so good to see known people with a public profile coming out in support of vaccines. She’s right, parents need to be better educated about vaccines and the dangers of not doing it

- - mom90758 said
  - 29 Jun 2017
    3:28 pm
She’s absolutely right and she’s spreading a very important message.

- - BellaB said
  - 29 Jun 2017
    1:19 pm
Good on her for using her profile this way.