Immunisation

Public Health provides support and advice to immunisation providers in the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Lithgow and Penrith areas in addition to implementing the NSW School Vaccination Program in our Local Health District.

The overall objectives of the Immunisation Program are to:

Maximise immunisation coverage rates for people of all ages and for all vaccines
Improve coverage for under immunised populations
Maintain cold chain for vaccine storage and viable vaccines
Continue and progress the school based immunisation program
Ensure resources are allocated where they are required
Identify problem areas and approaches to deal with these problems
Provide education and support to immunisation providers

Immunisation Coverage Rates

Vaccine coverage rates for children can be found on the NSW Health website

NSW Vaccines

The recommended vaccination schedule for NSW residents can be found on the NSW Health Immunisation page - NSW Immunisation Schedule.

Public Childhood Vaccination Clinics

Most general practitioners in the area offer childhood vaccinations. There are also several regular public vaccination clinics for children. These clinics are staffed by Registered Nurses authorised to provide immunisation. There is no cost to attend public clinics, and a Medicare card is not necessary.

Public Childhood Vaccination Clinics Schedule
Location	Download Schedule	Telephone
Hawkesbury	Link to Hawkesbury Community Health Immunisation Clinics	4560 5714
Blue Mountains	Link to Blue Mountain's Community Health Immunisation Clinics	4751 0100
Lithgow	Link to Lithgow Community Health Immunisation Clinics	6350 2750

School Vaccination Program

NSW Health works with educational authorities to offer students vaccinations recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

The school-based vaccination program has grown significantly in size and complexity, including in the number of vaccines offered.

The school immunisation teams visit each of the 51 high schools in Nepean Blue Mountains on 3 occasions each year to administer these vaccines.

The following vaccines will be offered to high school students in 2020:

School Vaccination Program 2020
Vaccine	Number of Doses	School Year	Recommendation
Diphtheria,Tetanus, Pertussis (Whooping Cough) (dTpa)	1	Year 7	All students
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)	2	Year 7	All students
Meningococcal ACWY	1	Year 10	All students

Free vaccine is only available at school to students who have a signed consent form while they are in year 7 (for dTpa or HPV vaccination) or year 10 (for meningococcal ACWY vaccination).
Students who miss vaccine doses due to absence on the day of the nurses' visit will be offered catch-up vaccination at subsequent school clinics. Where this is not possible, parents will be advised that free catch-up vaccine is available at their local GP.
Parents who choose to wait for their child to be older before consenting to vaccination will be required to arrange for vaccination at their GP and may have to pay a consultation fee. More information is available about catch-up vaccination.
Parents can withdraw consent at any time before vaccination takes place.

School Immunisation Records

For enquires regarding school immunisation records please contact Public Health on 4734 2022.

Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI)

See the Australian Immunisation Handbook for definitions and response to adverse events after immunisation. Immunisation providers can contact the NSW Specialist immunisation Service (NSWISS) on 1800 679 477 for clinic advice and support on immunisation for patients with complex or unusual medical backgrounds or have had an adverse event following immunisation.

Immunisation providers are required to report suspected adverse events by phone to Public Health .

Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network

The purpose of the Nepean-Blue Mountains Primary Health Network (PHN) Immunisation Program is to provide relevant and timely support to primary health care immunisation providers and to appropriately promote immunisation benefits to communities in the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Lithgow and Penrith areas.

PHN provides immunisation support to General Practices to maintain and/or improve local childhood immunisation rates to greater than 90%.

Catch-up Immunisation Request Form for GP's

Detailed instructions for planning catch-ups are in the Australian Immunisation Handbook. If you require assistance from Public Health to plan a catch up, please complete the Vaccination Catch Up Schedule Form and fax it to Public Health and someone will contact you.

Prior to planning a catch-up it’s preferable to obtain a written history of any vaccines given in the past. The World Health Organization website has information about the recommended schedule in each country that may assist in determining which vaccines have been given.

Travel Vaccinations

GPs wishing to provide Yellow Fever vaccination must meet the minimum requirement set out in the National Guidelines for Yellow Fever Vaccination Centres. The Yellow Fever Centre application package can be found here or contact Public Health for more information.

The Immunisation team does not provide travel advice to individuals. People travelling overseas are strongly advised to consult either their local doctor, or a specialist travel doctor.

The World Health Organization and the US Center for Diseases Control have up-to-date information on vaccination requirements and health precautions for all countries.

People bitten by mammals overseas may need to complete a course of rabies vaccine on return to Australia. For advice on vaccine requirements and to obtain free post exposure vaccine please contact Public Health

Bat Bites & Scratches

Any bite or scratch from a bat in Australia should be assessed for the risk of Australian Bat Lyssavirus. The key first aid step is to thoroughly clean the wound and apply an antiseptic solution such as povidone-iodine. Contact Public Health (or public health on call officer via Nepean Switch for advice on management and to obtain immunoglobulin and vaccine.

Workforce and Training

Public Health provides annual training opportunities for accredited nurse immunisers, practice nurses and general practitioners. For further information in regards to the annual immunisation update please contact Public Health.

Presentations from the 2019 Immunisation update are now available here.

Immunisation Update 2019

NBM Report Card 2019

Travel Vaccinations

Accessing the AIR