Immunisation Community of Practice

The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care is stressing the importance of ‘shielding yourself from shingles’ through a suite of resources designed to help health professionals have informative, supportive, culturally appropriate conversations about herpes zoster (shingles) vaccination with their patients.

The package includes clinical advice, a podcast, videos, a fact sheet and posters for display in healthcare settings.

A two-dose course of the shingles vaccine Shingrix is now free under the National Immunisation Program for all adults aged 65 years and over, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years and over, and people aged 18 years and over with selected severe immunocompromising conditions.

Access the resources

The Authorised Registered Nurse/Midwife Vaccination Standards and Authority have been updated to enable Authorised Nurse/Midwife Immunisers (ANIs) to administer rabies vaccine via intramuscular injection for pre-exposure prophylaxis, to immunocompetent people aged 5 years and over.

The addition of rabies vaccine to the Authority and the Standards is consistent with recent changes to the NSW Pharmacist Vaccination Standards and Authority.

The mandatory conditions which ANIs must comply with to ensure effective and efficient immunisation service delivery are outlined in the Standards. The updated Authorised Registered Nurse/Midwife Vaccination Standards and Authority has been published on the NSW Health webpage and is also attached https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Documents/authority-for-RNs-and-midwives.pdf

A new poster developed by NCIRS is now available to support immunisation providers in administering vaccines to infants and children.

The Recommended sites for childhood vaccination resource illustrates the recommended sites and routes of administration for vaccines recommended and funded under the National Immunisation Program as well as vaccines funded by certain state and territories.

The A3 poster also includes a checklist for preparing for vaccination, needle size recommendations and additional clinical advice.

The poster – which is available to download in colour or black-and-white – can be accessed here.

Services Australian has developed eLearning modules to assist you with accessing and using the AIR

Australian Immunisation Register eLearning

A new animation created for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families explains the importance of childhood immunisation to keep our kids and the community safe from serious diseases. It has been developed to help address lower vaccination rates in this group.

The ad:

• reminds families to have a yarn with health care workers about vaccines available on the schedule
• informs families about how disease affects children and the community
• educates families about the seriousness of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Watch the new ad here.

This infographic available in the Australian Immunisation Handbook provides updated pneumococcal vaccination recommendations for individuals who have previously received a pneumococcal vaccine. It outlines the recommendations for vaccinating:

• non-indigenous adults aged 70 years and over without risk conditions for pneumococcal disease
• all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 50 years and ove
• people aged 12 months and over with risk conditions for the disease

The infographic can be viewed on the Australian Immunisation Handbook website.

The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) has released the latest Shingrix vaccination data in Australia. this data will be updated quarterly to report Shingrix vaccination rates.

The data, published last week, reveals that in the six months following the NIP change – which was implemented on 1 November 2023 – there was a rapid uptake of Shingrix across Australia. Over that period:

• nearly 1 in 5 eligible adults aged 65 years and over received at least one dose of Shingrix
• approximately 1.25 million doses of Shingrix were administered
• the number of monthly Shingrix vaccine doses given increased from 11,019 (in October 2023) to 269,029 (in April 2024).

The report can be viewed on the NCIRS website.

From September 2024, free shingles vaccination under the National Immunisation Program (NIP) will be expanded to include people at moderate to high risk of severe infection and complications from shingles.

The herpes zoster vaccine, Shingrix® is available free to eligible individuals:

• aged 65 years and over
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years and over
• adults aged 18 years and over who are at increased risk of herpes zoster due to an underlying condition and/or immunomodulatory/ immunosuppressive treatments. Details regarding those who are at increased risk of herpes zoster is available in the Shingles vaccination - Program advice for health professionals (September 2024)

More information and advice on the shingles vaccination program is available on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

NCIRS is monitoring and reporting 2024 influenza vaccination coverage data, which will be updated regularly (initially, weekly) on their website throughout this influenza season.

Access the data

The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care recently launched its 2024 influenza vaccination campaign to raise awareness of the serious risks of influenza and the benefits of vaccination.

New video advertisements have been developed as part of the campaign to raise awareness of the seriousness of influenza, including during pregnancy and in children under 5 years of age.

Health professionals’ recommendations and advice play an important role in patients’ vaccination decisions. Health professionals are encouraged to promote and display the campaign materials in patient-facing areas.

View the campaign website