Early advice on 2020 National Immunisation Program seasonal influenza vaccination
Australia's Chief Medical Officer has released a statement providing early advice for vaccination providers on the 2020 seasonal influenza vaccines available through the National Immunisation Program.
Chief Medical Officer letter - Early advice for the 2020 influenza season and ATAGI statement
News article for Health Care Providers - 2020 seasonal influenza vaccines
'Get the facts about immunisation' - Launch of the 2020 childhood immunisation education campaign
The Governments ‘Get the Facts about Immunisation’ campaign supports parents of children aged 0-5 years and expectant parents in their decision making about childhood vaccinations.
The 2020 phase of the campaign builds upon the success of previous phases with a focus on the importance of vaccinating on time, the protection provided by vaccination, as well as continuing to address concerns around vaccine safety.
The campaign continues to address vaccination uptake in at-risk populations through supplementary targeted media and public relations materials developed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and culturally and linguistically diverse audiences.
The 8 week campaign commenced 16 February 2020 and will feature across national television for the first time for greater reach, supported by supported by search, social, online and out-of-home channels.
To find out more and access the campaign materials including posters, brochures and videos, visit the Childhood Immunisation Education Campaign website, ‘Get the facts about immunisation’.
Coronavirus: What are viruses? And how do they spread?
Dr Rosalind Eggo of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explains in this video from the BBC how viruses like the recently-detected coronavirus can spread globally.
BBC: What are viruses? And how do they spread?
No herd immunity: MenB vaccine 'fails' in school trial
A major study conducted in South Australia with almost 35000 participants has failed to show any discernible difference on herd immunity or throat carriage of Neisseria meningitidis.
The study was led by vaccinologist Professor Helen Marshall, who was pleased the vaccine afforded a high level of protection among participants, with no cases of meningococcal disease occuring during the study, compared with 12 cases in the same age group in the two years prior.
Alongside these findings, results of a UK study were published, estimating adjusted vaccine effectiveness to be 59% with a two-dose infant priming schedule plus a booster at 12 months of age since their publicly funded infant immunisation schedule began using the 4CMenB vaccine in 2015.
Read the full article here:
AusDoc.Plus: No herd immunity: MenB vaccine 'fails' in school trial
For further information about meningococcal vaccines, please refer to our Meningococcal disease and vaccines page
Influenza vaccine update for children under 3 years
FluQuadri (0.5 mL) can now be administered to infants and children from 6 months of age - see our updated reference page for details.
Influenza Vaccine Recommendations
Measles in Samoa: how a small island nation found itself in the grips of an outbreak disaster
Samoa's measles crisis continues. As of December 12, there have been 4,995 confirmed cases of measles and 72 deaths. With increasing vaccination coverage the situation is slowly improving.
The following article by Katherine Gibney may help to provide some clarification as to how this disaster occurred.
For further information about measles, please refer to our MVEC page: Measles
New NCIRS report - Vaccine preventable diseases and vaccination coverage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
NCIRS (The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance) have released two new reports focused on immunisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Communicable Diseases Intelligence (CDI) has published Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Vaccination Coverage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People which is accompanied by a summary report, Vaccination for our Mob.
View both reports here.
NCIRS are hosting an upcoming webinar – Working together to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander immunisation; on Tuesday 10 December at 1pm. Katrina Clark (NCIRS National Indigenous Immunisation Coordinator) and Patrick Cashman (Hunter New England Health Immunisation Coordinator) will be hosting. Find out more and register to attend the webinar here.
Samoa makes measles vaccinations compulsory after outbreak kills 32
Samoa has declared a state of emergency over its measles outbreak and a mass immunisation campaign is underway.
According to health authorities in Samoa, the death toll from a measles epidemic has cost the lives of 32 people. Most of the victims were aged under 4, 3 people aged between 10-19 have died and one adult aged in their 30's. The total number of reported measles case has soared to over 2400.
ABC: Samoa makes measles vaccinations compulsory after outbreak kills 32.
Studies show measles more dangerous than doctors realised
Two recent studies published by British and American researchers indicate that contracting measles is even more dangerous than doctors had realised, with findings suggesting that the measles virus destroys immunity that the victim has acquired to other diseases.
ABC News: Measles more dangerous than doctors realised, destroying the immune system's memory
It's not too late to get the flu vaccine!
Flu is now a year-round phenomenon, according to Victorian health authorities, after a 10-fold increase in infections in 2019.
The Age: Flu now a risk year-round as horror surge triggers $200 million package