Monash Division of General Practice

Monash Division of General Practice

immunisation

About our Immunisation Program

The Division offers support to GPs and practice staff in all aspects of immunisation through practice visits, phone support, resource provision and continuing professional development activities. Assistance can be provided with:

Vaccines and vaccination schedules
Vaccine Storage
- Vaccine fridge temperature logging service
- Vaccine storage audits & advice
General Practice Immunisation Incentive Payments (GPII)
- Registration for immunisation payments
- Maximising immunisation rates and payments
- Supply of practice lists of children overdue for immunisation
Recording and reporting immunisation
- Reporting childhood immunisations to the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR)
- Using practice computer software to record and report immunisations
- Paper-based immunisation records - including the Division's immunisation history stickers
- Recall and reminder systems
Patient education resources

About Government Programs

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine GARDASIL®

The Australian Government will provide the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine GARDASIL® free to all women and girls aged between 12 and 26 through the National HPV Vaccination Program.
GPs and community immunisation clinics provide the vaccine free to young women who are not in school and are still aged under 27. The vaccine will be available for this group for two years, until June 2009. If a woman has commenced but not completed the program prior to June 2009, the remaining vaccinations will continue to be provided free of charge until December 2009.
The vaccination program for girls in school will start in April. All female students currently in secondary school will receive the vaccine over the next two years. The cervical cancer vaccine will also become part of the regular school-based immunisation program for 12 to 13 year olds. GPs may also be asked to administer the vaccines to schoolgirls who miss one or more doses through the school-based program.
GARDASIL® is administered intramuscularly, usually in the upper arm, as a series of three injections over a period of six months. The optimal schedule is:

First dose - at elected date;
Second dose - 2 months after the first dose; and
Third dose - 6 months after the first dose.

Women aged 27 and over are not eligible for the free vaccine. GARDASIL® does not have Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approval for women aged over 26 years of age.
Males of all ages are not eligible for the free vaccine. GARDASIL® has been tested for safety and approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for males aged 9 to 15 years. However, research into the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing HPV infection and related diseases in men has not been completed. Boys in the approved age group may be vaccinated at their own cost.
The HPV vaccine does not eradicate the risk of developing cervical cancer. Patients should be reminded of the importance of ongoing, regular Pap smears to detect the cell changes that can indicate the early stages of cervical cancer.
More Information on this initiative can be found at:

Fast Facts for GPs. This page is updated periodically and contains more detailed information.
You can also download a Booklet for Immunisation Providers (PDF 368 KB). The booklet contains similar information to the Fast Facts for GPs page.

Resources Available at Monash Division:

Mail out letter
Mail out letter template for Medical Director
Information Flyer for patients (one page).

Practices can contact the Immunise Australia National Hotline copies of media resources such as brochures and flyers on 1800 671 811.

The HPV Register - A specific register will be set up to capture the data on HPV vaccinations from all providers and will be operational later this year.
From July 2007 GPs will be asked to record all relevant information concerning the provision of HPV vaccines to all girls who are under 18 years of age and not at school.
They will be asked to load this information onto the proposed HPV Register when it is in operation. GPs will be entitled to a $6.00 payment for lodging the data on the register for each of the vaccines given. GPs are encouraged to record the data concerning women between the ages of 18 and 26. This will provide a good record to enable recalls for the subsequent 2 vaccinations and eventually provide the women with long term information about their immunisation status.
There will be no payment for submitting this data but GPs are encouraged to add this data to the register if at all possible. It is hoped that this HPV register will become part of the proposed 'Whole of Life Register' and will provide both the patient and GP with an excellent ongoing record of the vaccinations received at a particular time.

Rotavirus Vaccine

Oral RotaTeq® vaccine - The Immunisation Program is launching the commencement of oral rotavirus vaccine (RotaTeq® from CSL Biotherapies) following the recent announcement by the Commonwealth Government.
The oral RotaTeq® vaccine is given as a three dose schedule at 2, 4, and 6 months of age. The funded program will commence from July 2007. All babies born from May 1, 2007 will be eligible for free rotavirus vaccine. The oral vaccine will be administered with the other scheduled vaccines (Infanrix IPV®, Comvax®, Prevenar®) routinely given to infants at 2, 4, and 6 months of age.
The first dose of RotaTeq® should be given no later than 12 weeks of age and the third dose should be given by 32 weeks of age.
A quick reference guide for cut-off dates of the oral RotaTeq vaccine to assist in ensuring the vaccines are given within the recommended time frame is on the resources page of this site.
Immunisation resources (NIP, Pre-Immunisation checklist, Common reactions forms) have been updated to include rotavirus vaccine. These will be available on the Vic Health Immunisation website by the end of this week.
The rotavirus fact sheet is being developed. The updated Resource order form will be forwarded when the resources are available.

Online Resources

The Australian Immunisation Handbook – 9th Edition, 2008
Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) - The ACIR includes a secure site for immunisation providers that can be used to report immunisations directly to the ACIR, check the immunisation status of individual children check immunisation payments, request reports from ACIR, and email any immunisation questions to the ACIR securely.
Immunisation Kit: A practical guide to effective vaccine management - The Immunisation Kit: A practical guide to effective vaccine management aims to provide a base level of immunisation information for general practices and health clinics in order to enhance the knowledge and understanding of best practice principles in regards to immunisation service delivery.
Department of Human Services Victoria - Provides general information for immunisation providers and parents, fact sheets in English and other languages and order forms for vaccines and resources
NCIRS (National Centre for Immunisation Research Surveillance) - Provides fact sheets on range of topics, including Thiomersal, Diabetes and vaccines, Measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism.
South Australian Department of Health – immunisation catch up calculator - Provides an immunisation calculator to help immunisation providers work our what vaccines a child needs or when their next immunisations are due.
Immunise Australia - Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, providing information on childhood immunisation.
Australian Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee (ADRAC ) - Report a serious and unexpected adverse event either online or by downloading and completing the 'blue form'
The World Health Organisation - Information on vaccines, links to articles about immunisation, individual diseases and research and development.

Useful Contacts

Department of Human Services - Immunisation	1300 882 008 (phone) 1300 768 088 (fax)
General Practice Immunisation Incentives	1800 246 101
Australian Childhood Immunisation Register	1800 653 809
To reorder ACIR stationery	1800 815 664
Royal Children's Hospital Immunisation Clinic	9345 6599
Adverse Events Reporting	(02) 6232 8386

Local Government contacts (for information on council immunisation sessions and services)
City of Glen Eira	9524 3279
City of Kingston	1300 653 356
City of Greater Dandenong	9238 5100
April 7, 2010518 3539

Travel Health Websites:

Travel Clinics Australia - Specialist travel clinic.
North East Valley Division of General Practice - Information to assist in travel health consultations including travel plans, checklists and kits.
Department of Foreign Affairs, Australia - For travel information including countries not recommended for Australians to travel to.
International Society of Travel Medicine
GlaxoSmithKline - Travel health advice including information on diseases and vaccinations on a country by country basis.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA - Health information for specific destinations and vaccination recommendations for travellers of all ages.

Pandemic Flu - Information and Resources

Use of Pandemic and Seasonal Influenza Vaccines in Children < 10 Years of Age
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has released guidelines on the ‘Use of Pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines in children < 10 years of age’. It provides recommendations on doses of Panvax H1N1 vaccine if seasonal Influenza vaccine has previously been given as either 2 doses or 1 dose and what to do in 2010 when seasonal influenza vaccine is available. Immunisation providers will be posted a hard copy of the recommendations shortly. If you need any assistance in doses required or further information, please call the Immunisation Program Department of Health on 1300 882 008.