Prevenar 20 is now available for order from the State Vaccine Centre in preparation for the upcoming change to the paediatric pneumococcal NIP on 1 September 2025.
Please review the letter NSW Health has sent to GPs and AMS regarding the changes.
From 1 September 2025, Prevenar 20 will replace Prevenar 13 and Pneumovax 23 on the childhood and adolescent National Immunisation Program (NIP) schedule.
Routine doses are scheduled at 6 weeks, 4 months and 12 months of age, with an additional dose given for higher risk children at 6 months of age or at diagnosis of the at-risk condition. There is no need to recall a person for ‘catch-up’ if they have already completed their full course of pneumococcal vaccination.
Prevenar 20 is a conjugated vaccine that protects against the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae. In addition to the protection against the 13 serotypes covered in Prevenar 13, Prevenar 20 offers protection against serotypes 8, 10A, 11A, 12F, 15B, 22F, 33F.
There are no changes to the adult schedule at this time.
Read more on the program changes via the NIP Fact sheet
Influenza activity in NSW is currently at a peak, particularly among children. There is a notable increase in influenza B cases, which tend to cause more severe complications in children. This has led to increased hospital admissions and serious complications including myositis, encephalitis and myocarditis, especially in school aged children.
NSW Health have released a safety alert: Influenza in children: Recognising, preventing and responding to complications requiring immediate attention and action. The alert underscores the importance of vaccination and early antiviral treatment to reduce serious illness and hospitalisation.
Clinicians are urged to:
Central and Eastern Sydney PHN is offering healthcare professionals working within the CESPHN region the opportunity to apply for a scholarship to attend this Immunisation Professional Development Day course free of charge (valued at $95).
The Benchmarque 2025 Immunisation Professional Development Seminar aims to equip healthcare professionals with updated strategies and best practices in immunisation. Throughout this one day seminar, you will upskill in various areas of Immunisation, providing you with 6 CPD hours.
Through focused sessions on Cold Chain Management, Vaccine Screening and Promotion in Adults and Older persons, and Immunisation catch ups, this one-day event seeks to enhance participant knowledge, skills and confidence in delivering effective immunisation services, ultimately improving public health outcomes in our region.
Details
Thursday 4 September 2025, 8.30am – 4.30pm
Rydges Parramatta, 116 – 118 James Ruse Drive, Rosehill NSW 2142
Eligibility criteria
Currently employed within the CESPHN region, with current AHPRA registration as one of the following:
APPLY HERE. Applications close 28 August 2025.
From 24 October 2025, new mandatory rules for the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) will apply. The Department of Health,
Disability and Ageing is introducing an Antenatal field to:
Best Practice updates
In Bp Premier Spectra SP1 Revision 2, a new Antenatal checkbox will be available with the following business logic:
Action required: To continue interacting with the AIR from within Bp Premier, and ensure compliance with the new mandatory reporting requirements, practices must update to Spectra SP1 Revision 2 before 24 October 2025.
Medical Director updates
The latest MedicalDirector update is MedicalDirector version 4.3a
Action required: To maintain access to the AIR, all practices must update their software to version 4.3a by 24 October 2025
After this date, practices that have not upgraded will receive an error when uploading to or viewing the AIR.
A comprehensive suite of new information about vaccination for adolescents has been published on the Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation (SKAI) website.
The new SKAI Adolescent page covers all vaccines that are recommended for young people in Australia aged 12-16 years. The package follows the same structure as the existing SKAI Pregnancy & Newborn and SKAI Childhood resources.
The package comprises 25 brand-new webpages organised into four sub-sections:
The communication suite is informed by evidence and uses plain, jargon-free language to meet the growing need for accurate information about vaccination for adolescents as coverage rates continue to decline in Australia.
Source: NCIRS Weekly Jab newsletter 15 August 2025. Subscribe here: ncirs.org.au/user/register
New AusVaxSafety data has shown the maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Abrysvo is well tolerated when administered alongside other vaccines given during pregnancy.
Early data indicates a similar adverse event profile after co-administration as when Abrysvo is administered on its own.
While a higher proportion of individuals who received Abrysvo at the same time as another vaccine reported local reaction (28%) compared to those receiving only Abrysvo (19%), rates of other adverse reactions – including rate of medical attendance and impact on routine activities – were largely similar across the groups.
Maternal RSV vaccination is recommended during pregnancy from 28 weeks gestation. If pregnant individuals are due for multiple vaccines, the vaccines can be co-administered to avoid the need for separate visits.
Source: NCIRS Weekly Jab newsletter 15 August 2025. Subscribe here: ncirs.org.au/user/register
| ZOOM MEETING LINK HERE Meeting ID: 813 9075 1446 Passcode: 480048 25 August 2025 Virtual | COSSI Knowledge Exchange Meeting The Collaboration on Social Science and Immunisation (COSSI) is hosting its latest Knowledge Exchange Meeting. A range of immunisation strategies in Australia will be discussed at the meeting, which will feature guest speakers Dr Sonya Ennis (Associate Director, Immunisation, Health Protection NSW), Mareeka Hair (Associate Director, Priority Populations Immunisation Program, Health Protection NSW), Kaylene Lottkowitz (Clinical Nurse, Sunshine Coast Public Health Unit) and Dr Nicolas Smoll (Public Health Physician, Sunshine Coast Public Health Unit). |
| REGISTER HERE 4 September 2025 In person $95 per person for the complete one-day seminar | Immunisation Professional Development Seminar The 2025 Immunisation Seminars aims to equip healthcare professionals with updated strategies and best practices in immunisation. Throughout this one-day Seminar, you will upskill in various areas of Immunisation, providing you with 6 CPD hours. Through focused sessions on Cold Chain Management, Vaccine Screening and Promotion, Adult and Older person vaccines and Immunisation Catchups, this one-day event seeks to enhance participant knowledge, skills, and confidence in delivering effective immunisation services, ultimately improving public health outcomes across Australia. |
| REGISTER HERE 17 September 2025 18:00-19:00 AEST Online | Immunisation Coalition Webinar – Pertussis Update This webinar will provide viewers with an update regarding pertussis epidemiology and current trends in vaccination rates. It will explore hat current literature indicates are the barriers and potential enablers to improving pertussis vaccination rates in Australia, thereby reducing disease burden. |
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