Immunisation

Thirteen diseases can be prevented by routine childhood immunisation:

• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Poliomyelitis (polio)
• Measles
• Mumps
• Rubella (German measles)
• Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib)
• Hepatitis B
• Meningococcal ACWY
• Pneumococcal
• Rotavirus
• Varicella (chickenpox).

The influenza vaccine is available at all immunisation sessions for those eligible under the National Immunisation Program.

The flu vaccine will not protect you against COVID-19, but it is still important to get the vaccine as it will ensure your immunity isn't compromised further by contracting influenza.

Flu vaccination clinics are available with a few changes to comply with COVID-19 physical distancing requirements.

Note that we will only administer the government-funded flu vaccines. Anyone who is not eligible will need to visit their GP for the flu vaccine.

Who is eligible?

• People aged six months to under five years of age
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged six months and older
• Pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy
• All adults aged 65 years and older
• People aged six months and older with medical conditions putting them at increased risk of severe influenza and its complications

For further information regarding the flu vaccine, visit Flu Immunisation.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly infectious disease causing a severe, persistent cough. Whooping cough can lead to complications such as pneumonia, bleeding, convulsions, coma, and permanent brain and lung damage can occur. Around one in 200 children under 6 months of age who contract the disease will die.

Babies are at risk from whooping cough as no protection is passed from the mother to the newborn through breastfeeding or pregnancy. Babies do not have sufficient protection until the 3 dose course of the vaccine (Infanrix Hexa) is completed.

The following people living in Victoria are eligible to receive the free vaccine:

• pregnant women from 28 weeks gestation during every pregnancy, ideally between 28 and 32 weeks of gestation
• partners of women who are at least 28 weeks pregnant if the partner has not received a pertussis booster in the last 10 years
• parents or guardians of new babies, if their baby is under 6 months of age and they have not received a pertussis booster in the last 10 years.

The whooping cough vaccine is available for adults in Australia as Boostrix (Adult diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) at all of City of Port Phillip Council sessions (no appointment is necessary) or through your GP (a consultation fee may apply).

Paying for the vaccine

All other people not eligible to receive the Boostrix vaccine for free are able to purchase and receive the vaccine through the City of Port Phillip at a cost of $42.

The vaccine must be paid for at the customer service counters located at St Kilda, South Melbourne or Port Melbourne before attending the sessions. You will need to bring a completed Boostrix Payment Form (DOC 89 KB).

For more information, visit the Government's whooping cough page.

All students in Years 10, are eligible for the Meningococcal ACWY Vaccine Program.

The City of Port Phillip will be attending all schools within the municipality before the end of the year to administer the vaccine to eligible students.

Consent cards will be sent home through the school. Parents are asked to complete the consent card and return it to the school regardless of whether the student is receiving the vaccine.

Young adults not in school but of an equivalent age (aged 15 to 16 years) are also eligible and may attend any of our immunisation sessions to have the vaccine administered for free.

Council delivers a comprehensive School Vaccination Program that offers all our secondary school students vaccines as recommended under the National Immunisation Program.

The vaccinations help ensure students and communities are protected from diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, human papillomavirus and chicken pox.

Information and consent cards are sent home to parents of eligible students at the beginning of the school year. The Immunisation Team organise an appropriate date and time with each of the schools and vaccinate the students while at school.

As part of the program, the following free vaccines are offered to, and recommended for, all Year 7 secondary school students:

• Human papillomavirus (HPV) (two doses given over a 6 month period)
• Diphtheria-tetanus-whooping cough (single dose)

The Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009 were amended to authorise schools to release parent and student information to local councils so that councils can follow up with parents after the consent forms have been distributed.

For more information, visit the Government's secondary school vaccination program.

You can also find more information regarding the HPV vaccine on the HPV Vaccine website or call the Cancer Council of Victoria Helpline on 13 11 20.

If you are unsure if your child is fully immunised, please contact the National HPV Vaccination Program Register on 1800 478 734.

The Australian Government has introduced new laws that require children, up to the age of 19 years, to be up-to-date with their immunisation to be eligible for Child Care Benefit, Child Care Rebate and Family Assistance payments.

Conscientious objection and objection on non-medical grounds will no longer be a valid exemption from immunisation requirements.

Further information can be found at Immunise Australia - No Jab No Pay and Why get immunised?

The following people are eligible to receive free government-supplied vaccines:

• all children less than 10 years of age
• young people 10 to 19 years of age from families who currently receive family assistance payments
• an adult, providing they reside in Australia and meet at least one of the following criteria:
  • hold a Medicare card or be eligible to hold a Medicare card (if a person attends without their Medicare card, vaccines can still be administered)
  • hold Australian citizenship
  • hold a permanent visa or have applied for a permanent visa.
• all refugees and asylum seekers, regardless of whether they hold a Medicare card

Vaccines scheduled at 12 months of age must be given only after your child turns one year old.

A parent choosing an alternate vaccine schedule will need to purchase the individual vaccine on prescription and be vaccinated through a GP if the age is outside the immunisation eligibility criteria.

An example is a parent choosing not to have the hepatitis B component and hence refusing Infanrix hexa vaccine. Council does not provide user-pays vaccines for schedule variations.

Please note, preterm babies born at less than 28 weeks gestation or less than 2kg birth weight require additional doses of some vaccines. Further details regarding your child's information will be provided to you at the immunisation session, prior to the vaccines being administered.

Children are due for the Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis and Polio (Infanrix IPV) vaccine at 4 years of age as recommended by the National Immunisation Program.

If your child has turned 4 and has not previously received this vaccine, it is now time for you to ensure they are immunised.

The vaccine is available at any of the Council Immunisation Sessions. Refer to the Immunisation Calendar.

Appointments are not necessary, however, it is important to bring your child's immunisation book or history to the session.

When you attend an immunisation session, we will record all vaccination details in our system and in your record book, and inform you when the next vaccinations are due.

We will also send the information to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).

Your child's immunisation records are valuable documents throughout their life, so always keep them up-to-date and in a safe place.

If you are being vaccinated by your local Doctor, please take in your baby's history book to ensure that the vaccines are recorded and stamped or signed by the doctor.

You must ask your Doctor to send the information of what vaccines you received on your visit to AIR.

This ensures that the Register has all your records up-to-date, whether done by council or your Doctor.

If your records are unclear, mixed-up, from overseas or you have received a letter from AIR, please contact the Immunisation Coordinator.

The Coordinator will arrange a time to bring your records in. Please ensure this occurs prior to an immunisation session.

The Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) is a national database that keeps a record of your child's immunisations.

Immunisation providers, such as General Practitioners or Councils, report your child's immunisations to the AIR.

An Immunisation History Statement is used when enrolling your child into school, childcare and kindergarten. A copy of the statement can be obtained by accessing your MyGov account or contacting the AIR on 1800 653 809.

If you do not have a MyGov account or a Medicare number, contact the Immunisation Service team.

If your child has had vaccines overseas, you will need to:

• notify the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) and Medicare of the vaccines received overseas - the Council Immunisation Coordinator can arrange this for you
• arrange a meeting to have your records checked with the Health Office prior to attending an immunisation session.

When meeting with a Health Officer, you will need to bring:

• All original immunisation records from overseas. Various paperwork is to be completed to establish whether your child requires additional vaccines as recommended by the National Immunisation Program. The information will be sorted and explained to you.
• Alternatively you may email a scanned copy or photograph of the overseas Immunisation history to immunisation@portphillip.vic.gov.au. In the body of the email please include the following details:
• Provide your child's full name and date of birth.
• Provide your child's Medicare number if they have one, including the identification number next to their name.
• Provide your current home address or the address registered with Medicare.
• An Immunisation Coordinator will add the immunisation history to the AIR (Australian Immunisation Register) contact you and advise if there are any vaccines that your child may require to be up to date with the Australian Immunisation Schedule.

Please understand we do not have the time to process overseas vaccines at an immunisation session.

If you are returning overseas without completing the Australian Schedule it is important to notify the Health Services Unit on 03 9209 6383. Please take the time to do this as it allows your history to be put on hold with the Australian Immunisation Register and prevent mail being sent out to your old address

You will need to bring all immunisation records for the child or adult being immunised, and a current Medicare card listing their name.

If your child's name is not on your Medicare card, you will need to register with Medicare. To do this contact Medicare or collect a Medicare Registration Kit from your maternal child health nurse.

If you are attending a pre-paid vaccination, you must bring your receipt received from Council's cashier.

Please also ensure you have completed an immunisation consent card and left it with your Maternal and Child Health Nurse before attending the session.

No. All providers of vaccinations are required to forward the information to a central records department in Canberra called the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).

For immunisation status queries, or questions about the register and reminder service, you can contact the AIR on 1800 653 809.

If you have booked a session online, arrive at your selected time and...?

If you are unable to book a session, on entry you will need to take a number and have a seat until your number is called.

The immunisation coordinator and one of the health services officers will check your record book and determine the vaccines that are due.

The vaccines you have on the day are recorded in our system and sent to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).

You will then be directed to the medical staff to proceed with the vaccinations. The medical staff double check what is to be given prior to vaccines being administered.

The medical staff are available to answer any questions you may have prior to the vaccines being administered.

Once the vaccines are administered you will be asked to wait at least 15 minutes before leaving the session.

Infants

The Shingles, Boostrix, ADT can be provided as part of your child's immunisation session upon request. These vaccines are not routinely available and must be ordered from the Victorian Department of Health.

The vaccines may take up to 1 week to be delivered. We therefore ask that you call and advise the Health Office in advance that you wish to have this vaccine so that we can order it and have it available when you attend the session.

Seniors

The National Immunisation Program provides a free shingles vaccine at 70 years of age. There is also a catch-up program for 71-79 year olds until the end of 2021.

The ADT (Adult Diphtheria, Tetanus) Booster is also available free for eligible adults aged 50 to 59 years of age.

The vaccine is available through GP clinics.

The City of Port Phillip does not have the vaccine available at sessions.

More information

For more information, visit the Government's Shingles Immunisation Service and Diptheria Immunisation Service.

Unfortunately, Council does not provide vaccines for travellers. Please visit Smart Traveler for travel vaccines information.