Immunisation Weekly Update:

Welcome to our weekly Immunisation update! In this week’s update read about:

1. Addition of RSV vaccination for pregnant women to the NIP
2. Toolkit for Immunisation Providers
3. Whooping cough outbreak worst on record
4. GBS very rare adverse event following Shingrix vaccination
5. Expressions of interest: join NCIRS’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group
6. Education

Addition of RSV vaccination for pregnant women to the NIP

The Abrysvo® vaccine will be added to the NIP in 2025. Eligible pregnant women will be able to receive the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for free under the National Immunisation Program (NIP). The RSV vaccine is recommended for women at 28 to 36 weeks of pregnancy and it protects their newborn from RSV.

RSV is a serious disease for newborn babies and it infects their nose, throat, and lungs. It is a leading cause of children going to hospital. Getting a vaccine in pregnancy reduces the risk of severe RSV disease in infants less than 6 months of age by about 70%.

The inclusion of the RSV vaccine on the NIP is a step towards a consistent national approach to protecting infants from RSV in 2025. Vaccinations will be available in 2025, the start date of the program will be announced as soon as possible. Read more information about vaccinations during pregnancy.

Toolkit for Immunisation Providers

NSW Health have released an updated Immunisation Toolkit for Immunisation Providers, previously the Toolkit for General Practitioners. The toolkit has been developed to support immunisation providers to implement the NSW Immunisation Program, and is a vital resource for immunisation providers, including information about:

• the NSW Immunisation Program
• the NSW Immunisation schedule and recent changes
• reporting to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR)
• vaccine recommendations
• cold chain management
• vaccine safety and adverse event reporting
• vaccine ordering and management.

Whooping cough outbreak worst on record

Australia is in the grip of the largest whooping cough epidemic since the introduction of vaccines to protect against pertussis, according to national notifiable disease data. 41,013 cases of the highly infectious and potentially deadly lung disease have already been recorded in Australia this year. Approximately 130 confirmed cases of whooping cough have been recorded each day on average in 2024, with more than 45,000 cases of the respiratory infection expected by the end of the year.

This is more than the previous record set in 2011 when 38,748 cases of whooping cough (pertussis) were confirmed for the full year.

The findings come as the Immunisation Foundation of Australia releases its 2024 Whooping Cough Report Card which reveals that New South Wales and Queensland have been hardest hit, with around half and nearly 30 per cent of notifications respectively.

The report card also highlighted a major spike in cases among school-aged children, with nearly 40 per cent of notifications recorded in 10-14-year-olds, highlighting the importance of timely vaccination of school aged children. Adolescent pertussis vaccine is available on the NIP via school-based programs in Year 7. Catch-up pertussis vaccine is available free under the NIP until the age of 19 years.

The Report Card’s launch coincides with Whooping Cough Day (8 November), which encourages Australians of all ages to remain up to date with vaccination.

GBS very rare adverse event following Shingrix vaccination

After investigating reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) following receipt of the herpes zoster (shingles) vaccine Shingrix, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) last week updated its Shingrix Product Information (PI) and Consumer Medicine Information documents to more clearly recognise GBS as a very rare adverse event following Shingrix vaccination.

The Shingrix PI had already included information about GBS, given an increased risk of GBS post-Shingrix vaccination (estimated at 3 excess cases per million doses) had previously been observed in an observational study as well as reported to the World Health Organization’s global adverse event reports database.

The TGA encourages healthcare providers to make patients aware of possible GBS symptoms after Shingrix vaccination – including pins and needles (paraesthesia), numbness, weakness and paralysis – and to report any suspected cases as AEFIs.

NCIRS’ shingles FAQs were revised this week to align with the TGA’s update and other recent amendments to the Australian Immunisation Handbook zoster chapter. The FAQs now include the following questions relating to rare adverse events:

• Are there any rare side effects after receiving shingles vaccines?
• Can a person receive Shingrix if they have had GBS?

Expressions of interest: join NCIRS’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group

To ensure NCIRS is working to meet the needs of Australian First Nations peoples, stakeholders and communities, NCIRS is seeking Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to join its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group. NCIRS invite health service providers, academics, clinicians and public health professionals – as well as community members such as Elders, youth and parents who are not health professionals – to express their interest in joining the Group. Expressions of interest close on 29 November 2024.

Education