Childhood immunisation in Australia: 2015 update

• Vaccine recommendations are updated regularly; to keep up to date, immunisation providers should check the Immunise Australia website and the electronic version of the Australian Immunisation Handbook (http://www.immunise.health.gov.au).
• Most Australian children receive all recommended vaccines, but pockets of low coverage exist; GPs and clinics in these areas have a large role in increasing immunisation rates.
• New vaccines funded by the National Immunisation Program (NIP) from 2011 include:
  • – 13-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine (replacing the seven-valent vaccine)
  • – combination measles–mumps–rubella–varicella and Haemophilus influenzae type b–meningococcal type C vaccines
  • – human papillomavirus vaccination for adolescent boys (as well as girls)
  • – influenza vaccine for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 6 months to less than 5 years.
• New recommendations for vaccines not currently NIP-funded include:
  • – reintroduction of the 18-month booster dose of diphtheria–tetanus–acellular pertussis (DTPa) vaccine (on the NIP from 1 January 2016)
  • – meningococcal B vaccine for young children and adolescents
  • – vaccination of pregnant women in the third trimester against pertussis with dTpa (funded by state and territory programs).

Picture credit: © Teri McDermott.