Some truths about the “low” childhood vaccination coverage in Sydney’s eastern suburbs

Among the hype and controversy prompted by the Australian Government’s recent announcement that conscientious objectors to childhood vaccination would lose childcare subsidies and part of the family tax benefit,1 including the accompanying media rancour,2 it is worth noting that published vaccination coverage figures based on the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (the Register) are only an estimate of the extent of coverage. In the case of the eastern suburbs of Sydney, they significantly underestimate the true coverage.