Immunisation saves millions of lives each year and is recognised as one of the world’s most successful and cost effective health interventions.
In Australia, there are a number of key vaccines available for free through the government’s National Immunisation Program (NIP).
Our new bulk billed Immunisation Clinics are an easy way for you and your family to get up to date with your routine immunisations during the upcoming school holidays.
What is immunisation?
Immunisation remains the best way to protect you, your family, and the wider community against preventable diseases.
It protects you from harmful diseases before you come into contact with them by using vaccines to produce an immune response in your body without causing illness.
Vaccines use dead or severely weakened viruses to trick the body into thinking that it already has the disease. This allows your immune system to respond and create antibodies to protect you against future infection.
They work by training your body to recognise and fight against specific germs. The next time you come across that virus, your immune system works quicker to produce the antibodies needed to destroy it. While you may still get a less serious form of the illness, vaccines help to ensure you are protected from the most dangerous effects.
When enough people in the community are vaccinated against a disease to prevent it from spreading, you get herd immunity.
This video provides a simple explanation of exactly how vaccines work>>
Vaccine safety
Vaccines used in Australia are thoroughly tested and monitored to ensure their ongoing safety. Before vaccines can be used in Australia, they must be rigorously tested on thousands of people in progressively larger trials.
Once vaccines are used in Australia, they continue to be monitored for safety.
SmartVax, established by Illawarra Medical Centre’s Principal GP, Dr Alan Leeb, is one tool that plays a major role in monitoring the safety of vaccines in Australia.
To find out more about how SmartVax works, visit http://www.smartvax.com.au
National Immunisation Program (NIP)
Australia’s National Immunisation Program (NIP), first established in 1997, aims to improve the national immunisation rate. It provides free vaccines to eligible people to help reduce preventable diseases, such as measles and influenza.
The NIP Schedule sets out the timeline for immunisations given at specific times throughout your life, from birth to adulthood.
In Australia, the vaccination rate target is for 95% of the population to be vaccinated against vaccine-preventable diseases. This target is required to achieve herd immunity in the community. Herd immunity is important as it enables those who aren’t able to be immunised (e.g. very young infants or people with medical conditions) to still be protected against vaccine preventable diseases.
While we are not quite at that target as yet, it is pleasing to note that the immunisation coverage for one and five year olds in Australia has increased since 2009. As of September 2020, the national coverage rates were 94.72% for all one year olds, 92.36% for all two year olds, and 94.90% for all five year olds.
It’s important for parents to note that all schools in Western Australia have immunisation requirements for enrolment. The summer school holidays are the perfect time to make sure your child is up-to-date with their vaccinations before starting school next year.
To find out more about the National Immunisation Program, visit https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/national-immunisation-program
IMC Immunisation Clinics
Illawarra Medical Centre has recently introduced a NEW bulk billed Immunisation Clinic service to help make it easier for you and your family up-to-date with your routine vaccinations throughout the year.
Our Immunisation Clinics are open to new and existing patients and available to both adults and children and all vaccinations are delivered by one of our on-site doctors and nurses each day.
The Clinics operate every weekday from Monday to Friday between 10am to 3pm and cover all non-travel, routine vaccinations.
Access to our Immunisation Clinics is available through walk-ins on the day. Alternatively, you can phone us directly on (08) 9208 6400 to make a booking, or book via our online booking service, HotDoc.
To find out more about our Immunisation Clinics, read our Frequently Asked Questions.
If you would like to see your preferred GP for your routine vaccinations or those not covered through our Immunisation Clinics, you can book online or phone us on (08) 9208 6400 to make an appointment.
For further information on this topic, visit:
- Australian Government, Department of Health – Immunisation – https://campaigns.health.gov.au/immunisationfacts/top-facts-about-immunisation
- Australian Government, Department of Health – National Immunisation Program –https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/national-immunisation-program
- AusVaxSafety – http://ausvaxsafety.org.au
- Immunisation Coalition – https://www.immunisationcoalition.org.au/immunisation/immunisations-facts/
- SmartVax – http://www.smartvax.com.au
- World Health Organization – https://www.who.int/health-topics/vaccines-and-immunization#tab=tab_1