Immunisation Community of Practice

Update to COVID-19 vaccine names

From 16 November 2024, COVID-19 vaccine names will no longer display the manufacturer name within the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). For example, the ‘Pfizer Comirnaty XBB.1.5’ vaccine will display as ‘Comirnaty XBB.1.5’.

This simplifies the display of COVID-19 vaccines and aligns with how other vaccines are recorded in the AIR.

Vaccination providers may notice this change when they are viewing or recording immunisation encounters in their clinical software (integrated with the AIR) or through the AIR site.

The AIR vaccine codes for COVID-19 vaccines will remain the same. Further information about AIR vaccine codes and vaccine brand names is available on the Services Australia website here.

Introduction of an antenatal indicator

From 8 December 2024, a new bespoke antenatal indictor will be added to the AIR. This will allow vaccination providers to report to the AIR if the person is pregnant at the time of vaccine administration.

In addition, improvements will be made to the ‘vaccine type’ field to simplify the reporting options available for vaccination providers. This includes removing the ‘Private’ and ‘State funded’ options and replacing with ‘Other’.

Maternal immunisation is critical in protecting pregnant women and their babies from serious illness and severe complications from vaccine preventable diseases. The collection of antenatal data is important as it ensures that the AIR contains a complete and reliable dataset to enable the monitoring of immunisation coverage and administration, and the effectiveness and safety of maternal vaccines and vaccination programs.

These enhancements will be implemented in a phased approach. Vaccination providers wanting to know when these changes will be available in their clinical software are encouraged to speak with their software provider.

The Department of Health and Aged Care has announced that the Abrysvo® vaccine for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) will be added to the National Immunisation Program (NIP) for pregnant women in 2025. This vaccine is recommended for women between 28-36 weeks of pregnancy and protects their newborn child against RSV.

The Australian Government in partnership with all States and Territories will also support national access to the monoclonal antibody, Beyfortus (Nirsevimab), which provides direct protection to newborns and young children.

More information about the program, including the start date, will be announced as soon as possible.

Immunisation providers cannot claim non-NIP Abrysvo® stock under NIP claiming arrangements in advance of the program launch in 2025.

Further information:

• Minister Mark Butler's announcement | Department of Health and Aged Care
• Information about immunisation in pregnancy | Department of Health and Aged Care
• RSV chapter | Australian Immunisation Handbook
• RSV frequently asked questions and resources (which are currently being updated following this announcement) | NCIRS

Services Australia has published a new resource to support health professionals in reporting infant vaccinations to the AIR.

The factsheet outlines the record-matching process in the AIR and what to do if duplicate AIR records are identified. It provides a step-by-step guide to reporting infant vaccinations on the AIR site as well as guidance on what to do in situations where certain information may be unknown.

Report vaccinations for infants to the AIR

This new release adds to a suite of infographic and eLearning education resources designed to help health professionals interact with the AIR accurately and efficiently.

Childhood immunisation is important to protect our kids against serious diseases.

Adjunct Professor Alison McMillan, the Australian Government' Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, answers common questions from parents and carers about childhood immunisation in a new video series.

The videos answer questions on:

• what the childhood immunisation schedule is
• how vaccines work to protect children from serious diseases
• vaccine safety
• what to expect when it comes to childhood immunisation
• yearly influenza vaccines.

Watch the videos here

The Immunisation Toolkit for Immunisation Providers ( formerly known as the GP Toolkit), has been updated to include information and guidance to all immunisation providers. The toolkit is available on the NSW Health webpage.

Services Australia has released a new infographic to support reporting vaccinations for infants to the Australian Immunisation Register. The infographic contains information about record matching and duplicate AIR records and using 'baby of' when the first name of a baby is unknown. This infographic titled Report vaccinations for infants to the AIR is now available on the Health Professional Education Resources Services Australia webpage.

From 5 December 2024, Services Australia will no longer support AIR uploads from Clinical V4.2 or earlier.

If you haven’t upgraded to 4.3 yet, time is running out to remain compliant for AIR uploads from 5 December 2024.

Updated: Clinical & Pracsoft version 4.3 upgrade and performance improvement tips

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