Immunisation Weekly Update:

1. Handbook chapter updates
2. Expanded gender identity and COVID-19 options on AIR
3. Preventing vaccines from light exposure
4. GPs and specialists wanted to support National Immunisation Catch-up Calculator research
5. Fewer adverse events after change to 13vPCV vaccine
6. Education

Handbook chapter updates

The Australian Immunisation Handbook chapters for pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal disease, rubella, and vaccination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been updated to reflect the latest evidence and align with other updates across the Handbook.

Pneumococcal disease

• Updated to reflect that pneumococcal vaccines can be co-administered with other infant immunisation products such as RSV-specific monoclonal antibody
• Updated to reflect that an additional dose at 6 months of age is now recommended for infants born to mothers who received biological therapies during pregnancy. These infants do not require subsequent doses of 23vPPV
• Editorial updates to the list of risk conditions for pneumococcal for clarity and alignment with other chapters

HPV

• Removal of all references to Cervarix vaccine (no longer available)
• Alignment of descriptions of at-risk medical conditions with other chapters
• Improve clarity for when a meningococcal vaccine can be given to someone with a complement deficiency

Meningococcal disease

• Clarification of adolescent vaccination for people previously vaccinated as children
• Clarification of when a meningococcal vaccine can be given to someone with a complement deficiency

Rubella

• Updated to reflect changes to infectious period
• Updated to reflect changes to work exclusion period for healthcare workers without proof of immunity based on new evidence and to align with rubella CDNA Series of National Guidelines

Vaccination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

• Updated to reflect changes to RSV vaccination for adults

Expanded gender identity and COVID-19 options on AIR

Two changes have been introduced to the Australian Immunisation Register as part of ongoing efforts to improve the quality and completeness of data.

Expanded gender identity options

Immunisation providers now have access to a third gender option, ‘Gender X’, as well as title ‘Mx’. This allows providers to accommodate the recording of non-binary status to the AIR.

Individuals can update their gender with Medicare via myGov (online or via app), in person, or over the phone with Services Australia. No documents are required. Their gender recorded in Medicare will be synchronised with AIR overnight.

Vaccination providers can indicate an individual’s gender via the AIR site or their practice software when creating or updating a record. This does not change the gender recorded on the individual’s Medicare registration. In these circumstances, individuals enrolled to Medicare should also update their gender preference with Medicare directly.

Generic COVID-19 vaccine option added

Vaccination providers can now select a Generic COVID-19 option to record unrecognised COVID-19 vaccines on the AIR for vaccines that were administered overseas only.

Source: NCIRS Weekly Jab newsletter 11 July 2025. Subscribe here: ncirs.org.au/user/register

Preventing vaccines from light exposure

Vaccines may lose potency if exposed to direct sunlight or ultraviolet (UV) light, including fluorescent light. This can result in the vaccines being less effective in protecting against disease.

To protect vaccines, they must be stored in the vaccine refrigerator inside their original cardboard packaging. Vaccines must not be removed from the original cardboard packaging.

Never remove vaccines from their original cardboard packaging to increase refrigerator capacity. Consider the volume of vaccines you store during peak times and ensure that your vaccine refrigerator has adequate capacity for both government-funded and private vaccine stock.

Reporting a light-exposure breach

If you become aware of vaccines which have been exposed to light, you are required to report a breach.

1. Label the vaccines ‘Do not use’ and isolate them from other vaccines
2. Report all light exposure breaches to your local Public Health unit on 1300 066 055.
3. Include information about how long the vaccines have been stored outside of their original cardboard packaging, and whether patients were vaccinated with potentially light-affected vaccines.

For more information, visit the NSW Health website.

GPs and specialists wanted to support National Immunisation Catch-up Calculator research

The Australian Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has engaged Folk, an independent design consultancy, to conduct user research to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed ‘people of all ages’ release of the National Immunisation Catch-up Calculator (NICC) before investing significant resources in development.

 They would like to speak with GPs, paediatricians, or specialists who regularly conduct catchups and have experience administering or overseeing vaccinations administered to:

• people with complex medical conditions (including those over 20 years of age)
• adolescents and young adults (including school-based immunisation programs)
• refugees and asylum seekers
• people who work in high-risk occupations
• people who live in remote and regional Indigenous communities or who work with Indigenous children
• older Australians (65 years or over)

They’ll ask you to:

• test drive the prototype and provide feedback
• identify any challenges you face when using the prototype
• suggest additional features that would be helpful.

Session details:

• When: 16, 17 and 18 July.
• Duration: 60 minutes (1-to-1 or group, up to 3 participants)
• Time: Select a time that suits you between 10:00 am – 5:00 pm (AEST)
• Format: Online, using Microsoft Teams
• Recording: Audio and video will be recorded for note taking purposes (with your consent) and will not be shared outside the project team.

If you have any questions, please contact Ranjeet (ranjeet@folk.com.au).

Book your session now: https://calendly.com/folk-workshops/aih-concept-testing-gp-specialists

Fewer adverse events after change to 13vPCV vaccine

A new research article has shown that the change from 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV) to 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (13vPCV) on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) in 2020 led to a reduction in reported adverse events following pneumococcal vaccination in adults. 

NCIRS researchers analysed AusVaxSafety data collected from more than 70,000 adults between 2016 and 2022 and found that adults who received a 13vPCV vaccine reported an adverse event around half as often as those who received a 23vPPV vaccine.

While the proportion of individuals seeking medical attention in the days after vaccination was low for both vaccine types – 0.3% for 13vPCV and 0.9% for 23vPPV – recipients of 13vPCV were also 61% less likely to seek medical attention.

These findings confirm that the short-term safety profile of 13vPCV vaccine is more tolerable than 23vPPV vaccine in adults in Australia – and create a strong foundation for the monitoring of new, higher-valency conjugate vaccines that may be added to the NIP in future.

Source: NCIRS Weekly Jab newsletter 11 July 2025. Subscribe here: ncirs.org.au/user/register

Education

Immunisation Forum Conference Newsletter available online

Presentation summaries and recordings from the Immunisation Coalition’s 9^th Annual Immunisation Forum are now available online. The forum consisted of four sessions:

• Session 1: Respiratory Syncytial Virus
• Session 2: Addressing vaccination challenges (part 1)
• Session 3: Addressing vaccination challenges (part 2)
• Session 4: New disease challenges

Access the newsletter, recordings and slides here.

Upcoming events