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Home > Projects > Immunisation
Immunisation
Check out the division's immunisation information website for parents and guardians on "Vax 'em!".
  • Project goal

  • Introduction

  • Vaccine cold chain

  • Service quality, co-ordination and GP support

  • The Australian Childhood Immunisation Register

  • Informing the public (See also patient information and links to useful websites and Media Releases)

  • ARTICLES

      • Project goal
      To improve and promote childhood immunisation by supporting and educating GPs and practice staff in reaching practice immunisation rates greater than 90% (according to ACIR data), together with ensuring the adherence to currently accepted NHMRC immunisation guidelines.
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      Introduction
      "Immunisation protects children (and adults) against harmful infections before they come into contact with them in the community. Immunisation uses the body’s natural defense mechanism - the immune response - to build resistance to specific infections. Nine diseases can be prevented by routine childhood immunisation - diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), poliomyelitis (polio), measles, mumps, rubella, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and hepatitis B. All of these diseases can cause serious complications and sometimes death. Immunisation helps children stay healthy by preventing serious infections.

      "There are two reasons for immunising everyone in Australia:
      1. Immunisation is the only effective way of giving protection against the disease. After immunisation, your child is far less likely to catch the disease if there are cases in the community. The benefit of protection against the disease far outweighs the very small risks of immunisation.

      "2. If enough people in the community are immunised, the infection can no longer be spread from person to person and the disease dies out altogether. This is how smallpox was eliminated from the world, and polio has been removed from many countries."
      (National Health and Medical Research Council, 1998)

      The National Health and Medical Research Council has identified general practice as a major vehicle for the achievement of vaccination rates greater than 90%. Immunisation incentives available through the GPII program encourage GPs to follow up vaccinations and to vaccinate opportunistically on every possible occasion.

      Vaccination has been included in practice accreditation to provide further encouragement for the active participation of GPs in the vaccination push for Australia. This project aims to provide support for GPs and their staff through addressing the following issues:
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      Vaccine cold chain
      Maintaining vaccines at the appropriate temperature from the time they leave the manufacturer to the time of administration is a vital to the success of immunisation programs. Improving immunisation rates will improve population immunity and reduce vaccine-preventable infections only if the vaccines are still effective when administered. Recent Australian experience has also shown that failure to maintain the cold chain adequately can greatly increase the costs of an immunisation program.

      Assessments conducted between 1995 and 2000 have shown that the region maintains a high standard of compliance and quality control. To support the practices, the division offers a cold chain assessment and written report to the GPs and their practice staff, on their request.
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      Service quality, co-ordination and GP support
      The provision of a quality service throughout the area is paramount to ensuring immunisation rates increase. Each service provider must have access to the most up to date information on immunisation guidelines and procedures and be able to answer adequately common concerns about immunisation.

      Ongoing support, education and feedback is provided to all GPs and their practice staff so they can meet accreditation standards for immunisation services. A practice process assessment has been completed for each participating practice and further education is continuing to support surgeries in their area/s of greatest need. Education and training is also offered to practices to help equip new staff.
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      The Australian Childhood Immunisation Register
      The Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) has been designed to provide information on immunisation coverage and to form the basis of a reminder system. This tells GPs which of their patients are now overdue (ACIR 020A report). The effectiveness of the ACIR is reliant on the accuracy and timeliness of the information received by and sent from the register.

      This project will continue to encourage immunising practices to become part of the GPII scheme, aiming to have all practices participating by the completion of the project. A flow chart has been adapted from the Osborne Division of General Practice to help practices with their reminder systems and data cleaning processes using the ACIR 020A report. Included are helplines and internet addresses that offer extended support to practices working to increase their immunisation rates and fulfill current ACIR documentation.
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      Informing the public
      The National Immunisation Strategy recommends that consumers have easily accessible, comprehensive and accurate information.

      The immunisation project has had an active media program promoting immunisation since 1995 and will continue to convey positive messages to the community through the project. It will also continue to provide relevant and updated information to GPs and their practice staff through the ongoing publication of The Immune Response, a monthly faxed newssheet circulated to all immunisation providers in the Northern Rivers and Tweed Valley and to several in the Clarence Valley.

      This website also aims to be a resource for parents who would like to find out more about the risks and benefits of immunisation. See also       Patient information on immunisation and links to other useful websites and vaccination.org.au, a parent-specific website we have established in association with the Northern Rivers Public Health Unit.

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      Articles

      Cabbage Tree community has top immunisation rate
      11/09/96   Health Minister Andrew Refshauge is surrounded by children from Cabbage Tree Island's primary school. They later perfor more...
      Diphtheria epidemic in former Soviet Union
      20/10/96  Katherine Breen Kurucsev Brisbane-based Allan Bass, from the Australian Centre for International and Tropical Health and Nutrition at the Univers more...
      John Yu - A voice for children
      20/02/97  Katherine Breen Kurucsev Dr John Yu, who has just passed the mantle of Australian of the Year to ground breaking immunologist, Professor Peter Do more...
      Whooping cough - A story of one family's loss
      25/04/97  Katherine Breen Kurucsev A serious outbreak of whooping cough swept through Kyogle and Evans Head in northern New South Wales in 1986, just after more...
      A child's right to good health
      24/07/97  Katherine Breen Kurucsev A Cambodian baby receives her immunisation against polio. In the developing countries of the world, natio more...
      Immunisation research centre an Australian first
      20/08/97  Katherine Breen Kurucsev Set up in March 1996, the Australian Centre for Immunisation Research is the only one of its kind in the country, althou more...
      Separation from birth - the story of one rubella damaged child
      23/01/99  Katherine Breen Kurucsev Alstonville mother, Mrs Yvonne Pearson, spoke to reporter Katherine Breen Kurucsev about bringing up a rubella-damaged c more...
      Immunisation
      An afternoon with immunisation expert, Professor Margaret Burgess
      20/10/99   Professor Burgess is the director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventab more...
      GPSpeak
      Free measles for young adults
      01/12/99   The Minister for Health, Michael Wooldridge, recently announced that MMR vaccination would be offered free to all 18-30 more...

      Immunise in time for school
      01/12/99   Media release - 20/01/01 Local doctors are encouraging parents to ensure their children are up to date with their imm more...
      Immunisation
      MMR, Crohn’s disease and autism
      01/12/99   Many of you will be aware of the link that the anti-immunisation lobby has publicised between the MMR vaccine, Crohn’s d more...

      Chicken pox and varilrix
      20/08/00   Varicella vaccinations The natural history of varicella is that 86-90% of household contacts are infected. There is a l more...
      Media Release
      Whooping cough on the rise
      01/12/00   August saw a big jump in the number of whooping cough cases on the Northern Rivers, with 27 people affected. This is in more...

      Life after polio
      01/01/01  Katherine Breen Kurucsev Don Davis firmly believes you cannot let anything in life beat you, no matter what the odds. From his battle with the more...
      Reasons Why People Choose Not to Vaccinate
      20/04/01   Dr Sue PageVaccination has probably saved more lives worldwide than any other single medical intervention. In 1803, just more...
      Immunisation
      Immunisation rates rise in the Northern Rivers
      20/05/01   Childhood immunisation has increased dramatically since the introduction of measures to improve the rates during the 199 more...

      Accreditation needed to give free Q fever vaccination
      20/09/01   GPs currently giving Q fever vaccinations will have to do an accredited refresher course in order to be supplied with fr more...
      Conscientious objectors skew figures
      20/11/01   You all should be aware of the increased requirements for the GPII scheme payments. For payments from January 1 your pra more...
      Media release
      Whooping cough on the increase in Byron Shire
      01/12/01   Unimmunised children in Byron Shire are at risk of contracting whooping cough in an outbreak of the disease in the shire more...
      No link between MMR vaccination and autism
      01/12/01   The Northern Rivers Division of General Practice would like to reassure parents of the safety of the measles, mumps and more...
      Immunise in time for school
      01/12/01   Local doctors are encouraging parents to ensure their children are up to date with their immunisations before they start more...

      NRDGP staff receive adult whooping cough vaccine
      01/12/01   Public health nurse Marianne Trent immunises Dr Sue Page with adult diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine, whil more...
      Immunisation update
      20/01/02   Practice immunisation rates Immunisation rates for the last quarter have been received by practices. Several excited st more...
      Immunise in time for school
      25/01/02   Local doctors are encouraging parents to ensure their children are up to date with their immunisations before they start more...
      News
      National shortage of Hib vaccine
      20/02/02   The supply of PedvaxHIB vaccine in Australia has been interrupted due to production problems experienced by the US-based more...

      Pertussis rates unnacceptably high in region
      20/02/02  Gae McDonald When was the last time you diagnosed a case of pertussis? When was the last time you gave a Boostrix vaccination? more...
      Dealing with immunisation myths in practice
      23/03/02   Lismore GP, Kingsley Pearson, formerly spent 11 years in practice in Nimbin, where it was not uncommon to have to deal w more...
      Changes to pneumococcal and meningicoccal vaccinations vax schedule
      19/04/02   The emergence of commercially available vaccines for different strains of the same family of microbes has created a conf more...
      Action plan to increase your practice immunisation rate
      13/05/02  Gae McDonald The actions listed have been developed to help increase practice immunisation percentages calculated by the ACIR. These more...
      Statement re thiomersal (mercury)
      12/06/02   Following the publication of an article in The Australian newspaper on Tuesday 11 June, 2002, exploring a link between t more...
      New vax website comes out of Byron immunisation think tank
      20/06/02  Gae McDonald The division is striving to increase the immunisation rate of each practice (as well as other immunisation activities). more...
      Vaccination
      Why Vaccinate?
      21/06/02  Dr Sue Page When you have an infection, your body creates white blood cells that target, surround and destroy the infection. The eff more...

      Measles spotted in Mullum
      20/08/02   A case of measles was identified in a high school aged boy from the Mullumbimby area in the last week of July, the first more...
      Immunisation
      Meningococcal disease
      20/08/02  Gae McDonald Meningococcal is a word that grabs the headlines and rattles the nerves. The stories on television and in the newspapers more...

      Chicken pox vaccine recommended
      08/11/02   Although chicken pox is most common during the summer months, local GPs have already treated several patients who have t more...
      Immunisation
      Free meningococcal vaccine to the public
      19/02/03  Gae McDonald This has been a hot topic for many months and there is more to come. A letter has been sent to all practitioners concern more...

      Immunisation news
      19/02/03   Changes to the childhood immunisation schedule and the 8th Edition Immunisation Handbook At this time both releases are more...
      Spike Echidna face of new vax website
      27/02/03   Spike Echidna is the face of a new vaccine information website set up by the Northern Rivers Public Health Uni more...
      Vaccination
      We love ya Spike Echidna!
      10/03/03   Spike Echidna and Marianne Trent from the Northern Rivers Public Health Unit meet three-month old baby Phillip Sheehan f more...

      Now’s the time to vax the flu
      17/04/03   Public Health nurse Marianne Trent is pictured just as she is about to jab GP manager of population health Dan Ewald wit more...
      Meet Spike in Ballina!
      06/05/03   Parents and children are invited to meet Spike Echidna in Ballina Fair shopping centre this Saturday 10 May between 11.0 more...
      Health care worker vaccination and infectious diseases screening
      20/08/03   Employees and other personnel providing services or attending clinical practicum in public health facilities must provid more...
      Vaccination
      Meningococcal vaccination
      16/10/03   Meningococcal is still in the news and with the recent case close to home, discussions in playgrounds, in the street and more...

      Measles cases must be notified
      17/10/03  Janet Terry Major advances have been made in measles control in recent years. Australia is moving toward measles elimination and the more...
      8th Ed. of Australian Immunisation Handbook released
      17/10/03  Diana Terry The Australian Immunisation Handbook 8th Edition 2003 was approved by the National Health and Medical Research Council ( more...
      Immunisation update - Prevenar stock shortage
      20/02/04   The shortage of stock available in Australia is due to a temporary shutdown of the Prevenar filling line in the US manuf more...
      Immunisation
      Meningococcal C funding extended
      15/06/04   The Commonwealth has extended the funding for meningococcal C vaccine for 1-5 year olds until the end of June 2005. The more...
      School based immunisation programs
      30/06/04   The NSW Adolescent Vaccination Program started in NSW in May. It offers three vaccines to high school students in 2004 a more...

      Spike the immunisation echidna visits local childcare centres
      02/09/04   Sophie Davey and Samuel Shepherd from the ABC Developmental Learning Centre in Ballina are delighted to meet Spike. more...
      New vaccines funded
      07/03/05   The Northern Rivers Division of General Practice welcomes the announcement that the Government will provide free chicken more...
      Meet Spike at Alstonville’s Healthy Living Expo
      20/04/05   more...
      31/12/69  
      Immunisation
      Out of print vax book now available in library
      03/08/05   Lismore’s head librarian Lucy Kinsley takes delivery of the four vaccination books for the region’s libraries. She is pi more...

      Vaccine fridges - purpose built may be the only way to go
      20/10/05  Dr Andrew Binns It doesn’t seem long ago that vaccines were stored in small bar fridges in surgeries that often used to double up as a p more...
      Vaccine cold chain holds up in recent power failure
      21/12/05  Rachelle Deaker After the power failure in early December, I was pleased to get word from practices in the area that they had taken prec more...
      Spike visits Ocean Shores
      29/10/06   Spike was a huge hit with a smiley 19 month old Conor Reimer from Mullumbimby. Spike and his team of helpers took a t more...
      Multiple vaccines do not overload immune system
      29/10/06   Parents (and providers) may be concerned that children receive too many vaccines. Such concern may surround the misconce more...
      Immunisation Project Brief
      29/10/06  Rachelle Deaker PO Rachelle Deaker Catch-up meningococcal C vaccination The Government has agreed to extend the funding for the prov more...
      New immunisation information sheets for patients
      19/12/06   The division has designed parental information sheets on HPV vaccine, rotavirus and post vaccination advice for parents. more...
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