Immunisation Archives | Page 5 of 6 | South Western Sydney PHN

23 May 2023

High levels of respiratory viral infections heading into the colder weather has prompted calls for South Western Sydney residents to ensure their flu vaccinations and COVID-19 boosters are up-to-date.

South Western Sydney Primary Health Network Acting Chief Executive Officer, Kristen Short, said NSW Health was already reporting high levels of COVID-19 and flu across the state.

“It’s understandable people have grown weary of hearing about COVID-19 and following all the guidance associated with our efforts to combat the virus,” she said.

“But now, as we head into winter and the flu season, is not the time to take a break.

“We should all take steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones, especially those who are likely to get very sick, like young children and older people.

“This includes getting vaccinated and actions like avoiding contact with people who are sick, staying at home when you’re sick, covering coughs and sneezes and washing your hands.”

In the week ending 13 May, NSW Health received 13,545 laboratory confirmed notifications for COVID-19, an increase of 18 per cent on the previous week, and notifications of flu jumped 35 per cent to 1,282 cases.

Flu vaccinations

Flu vaccinations should occur before the onset of the flu season, which typically peaks between June and September.

People eligible for a free flu shot under the National Immunisation Program include:

Children from six months to under five years of age
People with serious health conditions (including severe asthma, diabetes, cancer, immune disorders, obesity, kidney, heart, lung or liver disease)
Pregnant women
Aboriginal people aged from six months
People aged 65 and over

COVID-19 vaccinations

While the focus on COVID-19 has decreased, the threat of infection and long-term side-effects remains.

All adults can get a 2023 COVID-19 vaccine booster if it’s been six months or longer since their last COVID-19 booster or confirmed infection (whichever is most recent), for additional protection against severe illness.

Flu and COVID-19 vaccines can be administered at the same time.

Visit your GP, pharmacist or Aboriginal Controlled Health Service to get your flu shot and book your COVID-19 vaccination through the healthdirect Service Finder.

21 April 2023

A new Immunisation History Statement (IHS) is now available which displays COVID-19 and influenza vaccination information (including medical contraindications) on the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) for an individual.

This provides individuals with more privacy as they can use it as evidence for employment purposes, instead of providing their full vaccination history.

The AIR042A (COVID-19) report is now available for vaccination providers to generate through the AIR site.

Updates have been made to improve the usability of the report which provides information about an individual’s COVID-19 vaccination history.

Download AIR update

19 April 2023

Paediatrician, Dr Andrew McDonald (pictured with medical student Ellen Court), joined 90 Tharawal Aboriginal Medical Service patients recently for their annual flu jab.

Tharawal AMS held the special flu vaccination clinic and hosted a barbecue for patients on Tuesday, 18 April.

Yearly influenza vaccination is recommended and free for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged six months and over.

Flu vaccination is recommended any time from April onwards to ensure protection for the peak flu season, which is generally June to September.

Flu vaccines can be given on the same day with a COVID-19 vaccine.

Free influenza vaccines are available to eligible people under the National Immunisation Program, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and:

children six months to less than five years
pregnant women
people aged 65 and over
people with certain medical conditions

Find out more:

NSW Health: Seasonal influenza vaccination – Frequently asked questions
Department of Health and Aged Care: Fighting flu starts with you – factsheets

19 April 2023

A new public awareness campaign is aiming to improve childhood vaccination rates.

Despite maintaining relatively high routine vaccinations among children in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a downward trend in childhood immunisation coverage rates over the past two years, particularly for First Nations children.

The campaign, with the theme ‘one more way you keep them safe’, highlights the importance of vaccinating children according to the National Immunisation Program (NIP) schedule, emphasising that vaccination is just one more of the many things parents and carers can do to keep their kids safe.

The campaign encourages parents and carers to seek information from trusted sources and reassures them about the benefits of childhood vaccination.

Visit the campaign website

22 March 2023

World Immunization Week highlights the collective action needed and promotes the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease.

The awareness campaign is held between 24 and 30 April – a timely reminder for those of us in Australia to get our annual influenza vaccination.

The influenza vaccine is recommended for everyone aged six months and over. It not only protects you, but also helps protect those around you.

You should get the flu vaccine anytime from April onwards to be protected for the peak flu season, which is generally June to September. The highest level of protection occurs in the first three to four months following vaccination.

However, it is never too late to vaccinate since influenza can circulate in the community all year round.

Flu vaccines can be given on the same day with a COVID-19 vaccine.

Free influenza vaccines will be available to eligible people under the National Immunisation Program, including:

children six months to less than five years
pregnant women
people aged 65 and over
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
people with certain medical conditions

Find out more:

NSW Health: Seasonal influenza vaccination – Frequently asked questions

Department of Health and Aged Care: Fighting flu starts with you – factsheets

21 March 2023

General practices are encouraged to take steps to improve childhood immunisation uptake.

In South Western Sydney, the overall childhood immunisation rate is still more than 90 per cent, however it has dropped below 95 per cent in a number of LGAs.

GPs are encouraged to review their clinical software to identify children who are overdue for immunisations and issue recalls.

To do this, you can use the 10A Report walkthrough available on the SWSPHN website.

POLAR is also a useful tool for general practice to identify children who are missing scheduled vaccines at a certain age in your practice. General practices can follow the POLAR Immunisation Walkthrough to identify patients aged one to two years old who may be missing their first dose of MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) and Meningococcal ACWY.

A wealth of information about the importance childhood immunisation is also available on the SWSPHN website.

Visit this page – Continuous Quality Improvement in Childhood Immunisation

10 March 2023

NSW Health has provided the following information about the seasonal flu vaccination for general practices and Aboriginal Medical Services.

The key messages are:

From April 2023, free influenza vaccines will be available to eligible people under the National Immunisation Program
Immunisation Providers should target children under five years, Aboriginal people, pregnant women, medically-at risk patients and people aged 65 and over
Take the opportunity to ensure your patients are up to date with all vaccinations
Prepare your practice by reviewing the Influenza Vaccination Provider Toolkit 2023 available at health.nsw.gov.au/flu

NSW Health - influenza vaccination 2023

The Department of Health and Aged Care has also provided resources and advice for vaccination providers.

Department of Health and Aged Care - influenza vaccination 2023 ATAGI advice on seasonal influenza vaccines in 2023 CMO advice: National Immunisation Program Getting vaccinated against influenza – resource collection National Immunisation Program schedule SKAI communications package

NCIRS has provided the following clinical guidance, resources, safety data and patient information to support vaccination for the 2023 influenza season.

Influenza is unpredictable

16 February 2023

The Department of Health and Aged Care has provided the following information regarding enhancements to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) for influenza vaccines, in preparation for the 2023 influenza season.

Addition of new influenza vaccines

To enable better monitoring and reporting of influenza vaccines funded under the National Immunisation Program (NIP), the following vaccine names will be added to the AIR.

Addition of new influenza vaccines
Vaccine Brand Name	Vaccine Code
Afluria Quad (NIP)	AFLQUA
Afluria Quad (Non-NIP)	QUADAF
Fluarix Tetra (NIP)	FLXTET
Fluarix Tetra (Non-NIP)	ARXFLU

The change will enable vaccination providers to select whether an influenza vaccine is funded under the NIP or purchased on the private market.

When reporting to the AIR, vaccination providers should select the relevant vaccine name, ie (NIP) for NIP funded vaccines and (non-NIP) for privately purchased vaccines.

For individuals, only the vaccine brand name will display on their Immunisation History Statement.

For example, Afluria Quad (NIP) will display as “Afluria Quad”.

These new vaccine names will be available to report to the AIR using clinical software, however if these vaccines do not appear, the Department recommends vaccination providers contact their software provider in the first instance.

Alternatively, vaccination providers can report the vaccine to the AIR using the AIR site.

Updates to existing influenza vaccines

To improve the data quality and reporting of influenza vaccines, the AIR will be updated to prevent the reporting of historical vaccine brands which are no longer registered or available for use in Australia.

Please see below:

Removal of below influenza vaccines
Vaccine Brand Name	Vaccine Code
Afluria Quad	AFLR
Fluvax	FLUVAX
Vaxigrip	VAXGRP
Fluarix	FLRIX
Fluarix Tetra	FLUTET
FluQuadri Junior	FQDJN
Fluvirin	FLVRN
Panvax	PANVAX
Influvac	INFLUV
Agrippal	AGRPAL
Vaxigrip Junior	VGRJNR
Fluvax Junior	FVXJNR
Fluad	FLUAD
Fluzone High-Dose	FLUHID

Please note:

Vaccination providers will still be able to report these vaccines if they were administered prior to 11 February 2023
Influenza vaccines reported to the AIR prior to 11 February 2023 will remain recorded on the AIR and display on individuals’ vaccination evidence.

In instances where an individual has been vaccinated (ie overseas) and the vaccine brand is not available to report to the AIR, vaccination providers can report it as a generic vaccine brand, for example ‘Generic Influenza’.

This ensures individuals have a complete AIR record and can provide evidence of vaccination for education, employment or travel purposes.

It is mandatory under the Australian Immunisation Register Act 2015, for vaccination providers to report all influenza vaccinations administered on, or after 1 March 2021.

Reporting timely, high quality and accurate vaccination information ensures the AIR contains a complete and reliable dataset to enable the monitoring of immunisation coverage and administration.

08 February 2023

All adults who have not had a COVID-19 booster or a confirmed case in the past six months can now get a 2023 booster – regardless of the number of prior doses received – to give them extra protection against severe illness from the virus.

The extra booster is not recommended for under 18s, except where children aged five to 17 have health conditions which would put them at risk of severe illness.

Bookings are available through the health Service Finder or use ‘Hey Eva’ – Easy Vaccine Access.

EVA, is a simple callback service to help people book a COVID-19 vaccine. If you need help making a COVID-19 vaccine booking, SMS ‘Hey EVA’ to 0481 611 382. A trained call agent from the National Coronavirus Helpline will call you to help book your COVID-19 vaccination.

Access COVID-19 booster vaccine advice

06 February 2023

The risk of catching Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and other mosquito-borne diseases is higher this summer due to warm, wet weather providing ideal mosquito breeding conditions.

JEV is spread only through mosquito bites and is more common in areas of increased mosquito activity, such as lakes, creeks, rivers and dams. People should also be vigilant around areas where animals that can infect mosquitoes with JEV – such as waterbirds and pigs – are present.

If you’re travelling this summer, it is important to be aware of areas with mosquito activity and follow simple steps to avoid mosquito bites.

People are encouraged to use effective mosquito repellent containing DEET, Picaridin, or Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus on all exposed skin and wear long, loose fitting clothing when outside, especially at dusk and dawn. Mosquito nets or screens should be properly fitted to accommodation and tents.

Most people who catch JEV will have no symptoms and severe illness is rare. Symptomatic infection usually begins with sudden onset of fever, headache and vomiting.

A very small proportion of people infected, less than one per cent, may develop a serious illness such as encephalitis and experience symptoms including neck stiffness, severe headache and coma, and more rarely, permanent neurological complications or death.

Anyone experiencing these symptoms should urgently seek medical advice.

JEV cannot be transmitted from human to human nor by consuming meat from an infected animal.

Vaccines are available to those most at risk of infection, based on locality and profession.

Find out more about vaccination Find out more about spread of JEV