Immunisation Weekly Update:

• Immunisation Professional Development Conference ·
• Handbook influenza chapter updates ·
• Increased measles risk in NSW ·
• Education

Immunisation Professional Development Conference

Registrations are free and open now for Benchmarque’s 2026 Immunisation Professional Development Conference in Sydney.

The one day in-person event will include sessions addressing vaccine hesitancy, travel vaccinations, priority populations and an update on winter respiratory conditions in advance of the 2026 season. The events also include an evening networking event. View the full program here.

For 2026, enrolments are fully subsidised by sponsors, meaning that you can attend for free. However, there are limited places available – enrol as soon as possible to avoid missing out!

Date: Thursday 30 April 2026, 08:30-18:00

Location: Rydges Sydney Central, 28 Albion St Surry Hills

Register using this link

NCIRS influenza webinar videos now available

Recordings of the NCIRS webinar Influenza vaccination in 2026: a new era of protection – held on 5 March 2026 – can now be viewed online.

The session was hosted by NCIRS Director Professor Kristine Macartney and covered recent trends in influenza burden and vaccine coverage, as well as important changes to this year’s seasonal influenza program.

The webinar also addressed common questions about the intranasal live attenuated influenza vaccine, FluMist.

Watch the videos here

Handbook influenza chapter updates ·

The Australian Immunisation Handbook chapter on influenza has been updated to include intranasally-administered live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV; FluMist) as an alternative to inactivated influenza vaccine in children aged 2 to <18 years.

Additional updates have been made to reflect changes to the recommendation for influenza vaccine doses as per below:

• Most individuals should receive one dose of influenza vaccine each year.
• When receiving influenza vaccine for the first time, healthy children aged 6 months to <2 years and only those with medical risk conditions aged 6 months to <9 years should receive 2 doses, given 4 weeks apart.
• People of any age receiving influenza vaccine for the first time after haematopoietic stem cell or solid organ transplant or CAR T-cell therapy should also receive 2 doses, given 4 weeks apart.

Increased measles risk in NSW ·

There is currently an increased risk of measles in NSW, with 29 cases confirmed since 1 January 2026. Most cases were adults who were under-vaccinated for measles or had no proof of measles vaccination.

Several of the confirmed cases has had no known contact with anyone else with measles and did not attend any known exposure locations. With the source of their infection unknown, it is likely measles is currently circulating within the community, and other people may have been unknowingly exposed to measles.

A list of potential exposure locations can be found on the NSW Health website. People who visited the listed locations should watch for symptoms and seek medical advice if symptoms occur. It can take up to 18 days for symptoms to appear following exposure to a person with measles.

Why are adults under-vaccinated for measles?

Two doses of MMR vaccine are required to provide 99% protection against measles infection. In the late 1960s, a single-dose measles vaccine was recommended. In 1992, a second dose was introduced to the national immunisation schedule.

This means that people aged in their 30s to late 50s (those born between 1966 and 1994) are likely to have only had one dose of MMR vaccine, and are not fully protected against measles.

Free measles vaccine for adults

In NSW, MMR vaccine is state funded and available free of charge for adults born during or after 1966 who are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated against measles. See NSW-funded additional free vaccines​​.

Education