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By Zoë Schlanger
Senior Writer
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In Australia, Christian Scientists can no longer claim religious exemption for vaccinating their children, government officials announced on Sunday, according to the Guardian.
In a broad effort to boost the immunization rate in the country, Australian Social Services minister Scott Morrison also announced that doctors will get incentive payments for keeping parents on their children's vaccination schedule.
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Until Sunday, Christian Scientists were the only group in Australia to be granted the option to opt out of childhood vaccines on religious grounds. That exemption, which has been in place since 1998, "is no longer current or necessary and will therefore be removed," Morrison said, according to the Guardian.
Now, the only way for a child to legally forego vaccines in the country is on medical grounds. Among the reasons a child can gain exemption are the onset of a brain disease within the first seven days after a previous vaccination, an allergy to a preservative or antibiotic ingredient present in the vaccines, "unstable neurological disease" and "immediate severe acute allergic or anaphylactic reaction after any previous vaccination," according to the qualifying form.
The announcement comes the same week as another change to Australia's vaccine policy: On Monday, the Guardian reported, the country plans to end some welfare payments to parents who fail to vaccinate their children.
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