Vaccinations (Children and Adults) 

Vaccinations

Routine childhood vaccinations are provided at our clinic and are all bulk billed. Please bring your Green Book or vaccination record to your appointment.

We can also provide catch-up vaccinations for any childhood vaccinations that have been missed.

If you have moved to Australia from overseas we can also provide an assessment and vaccination schedule to get your child or children up to date with the Australian Immunisation Schedule.

A copy of childhood vaccination schedules are easily available to everyone through the myGov app. Please contact your local medicare office for information and help to access the myGov app.

Influenza Vaccination

Influenza (flu) is a highly contagious viral infection that spreads easily from person to person through coughing, sneezing and close contact.

Unlike a cold, symptoms such as fever, sore throat and muscle aches develop suddenly with flu. In some cases, severe illness and complications such as pneumonia and bronchitis can develop, which can result in hospitalisation and even death. The flu can also make some existing medical conditions worse.

The flu virus can be especially dangerous for elderly people, pregnant women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and very young children, as well as for people with underlying medical conditions.

Annual vaccination is the best way of preventing the flu and any associated illness.

You should get the flu shot every year because the flu virus is constantly changing. Every year, the flu vaccine changes too, so it protects against the flu strains which are most likely to be around during that winter.

There is now evidence that the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine wanes over time and it’s important be protected when the flu is most common, around August. Ask your doctor for advice on the best time to receive your vaccination.

The 2020 flu shot is available from our clinic presently.

The flu vaccine is recommended for everyone from six months of age, but is available free under the National Immunisation Program for people who face a high risk from influenza and its complications. These are:

• People aged 65 years and over
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait people aged six months to less than five years
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are aged 15 years and over
• Pregnant women
• People aged six months and over with medical conditions such as severe asthma, lung or heart disease, low immunity or diabetes that can lead to complications from influenza.

Shingles Vaccination

Zostavax® also known as the Shingles Vaccine is free for all adults 70 years of age. There is also a free five year catch-up program for people ages 71-79 years until 31st October 2021.

Zostavax® is recommended, but not funded, for people 60 years and over as this age group is at an increased risk of shingles and its complications. People who are not eligible to receive the free vaccine are able to purchase the vaccine with a private prescription.

Zoster vaccine should not be given to people who are immunocompromised, pregnant women, or those who have previously had anaphylaxis to the vaccine.

Pneumonia Vaccination

One dose of pneumococcal vaccine (pneumococcal polysaccharide 23vPPV) is recommended in adults aged 65 years and over.

Pneumococcal vaccines are provided free under the National Immunisation Program to all young children, people aged 65 years and older, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people ages 50 years and older and some people who are more at risk of infection.

The pneumococcal vaccine used in the Program is called PneumoVax®23. It provides protection against the 23 most common strains of pneumococcal bacteria responsible for most cases of disease in adults in Australia.

Pneumococcal disease comprises a range of infections and can be life-threatening. Pneumococcal disease does not just affect children. People over the age of 65 years and young children under the age of 2 are at higher risk of contracting pneumococcal disease than the rest of the population. Even healthy persons aged 65 or over are at greater risk of contracting the disease.

In adults, pneumococcal pneumonia is the most common form of serious (invasive) pneumococcal disease. It usually requires hospitalisation. Other forms of pneumococcal disease are infection around the brain (meningitis) and blood poisoning (septicaemia).

Pneumococcal disease can occur at any time of the year, although infections seem to be more common during winter and spring. Vaccination will help protect you against pneumococcal disease. Please ask your GP for details.

Pertussis or Whooping Cough Vaccination

Whooping Cough (pertussis) is an extremely contagious respiratory infection caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. The disease causes uncontrolled coughing and vomiting, which can last for several months and can be particularly dangerous for babies under the age of 12 months.

Babies are at greatest risk of contracting whooping cough until they have had at least two doses of the vaccine (aged four months), as their mother’s antibodies do not provide reliable protection. About one in 200 infants under the age of six months who contract whooping cough will die from pneumonia or brain damage.

Increasing vaccination coverage has dramatically reduced the incidence of whooping cough among Australian children. However, it remains a highly infectious and dangerous disease. In a household where someone has whooping cough, an estimated 80-90% of the unimmunised contacts of that person will acquire the disease.

Immunisation with a DTPa-containing (diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis) vaccine is the best way to reduce the risk of whooping cough in children. It is recommended as part of routine childhood immunisation, as a combination vaccine which is free on the National Immunisation Program Schedule. Doses of vaccine are given at two, four and six months of age, with booster doses at 18 months, four years and 10-15 years. As whooping cough causes severe disease in the elderly, adults who are 65 years of age are recommended a single booster dose of dTpa if they haven’t received one already in the previous 10 years.

To protect young infants against pertussis before they commence their vaccinations at 2 months of age, the 2015 update of The Australian Immunisation Handbook – 10th edition recommends a single booster dose of adult formulation pertussis vaccine (dTpa) for all pregnant women in their third trimester of pregnancy as their antibodies transfer to the newborn through the placenta. A dose is also recommended for adult household contacts and carers (e.g. fathers, grandparents) of infants <6 months of age at least 2 weeks before beginning close contact with the infant to reduce the chance of passing on the bacteria.

Travel Vaccinations

Our clinic can provide up to date information on travel vaccines and travel health. We would ask that you bring any vaccination records you may have so we can assess what vaccinations are needed. Travel consults can take quite a lot of time as its needs to be tailored to an individual’s needs and travel plans. Individual consults are needed for each traveller. Please advise our reception staff at the time of booking that you need a Travel Health consult.

Some not so commonly used vaccines may take time to order so make sure you are organised and book your travel health consult a few months in advance of your travel date.

Travel vaccines can be expensive and this needs to be factored into your travel planning.