Immunisation - childhood

Immunisation from an early age is highly recommended for all Australian children. Having your child immunised helps protect them against the most serious childhood infections, some of which may be life-threatening. Routine childhood immunisations protect your child against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis), polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), rotavirus, hepatitis B, pneumococcal, meningococcal C, chickenpox, measles, mumps and rubella (German measles).

The National Immunisation Program describes the routine childhood immunisations recommended for all children in Australia. Some groups are more at risk than others in the community and may need additional vaccines.

See your doctor or local health clinic to have your child immunised. All Victorian local councils also run immunisation sessions.

Immunisation and young children
In the first months of life, a baby is protected from some infectious diseases by antibodies transferred from mother to baby during pregnancy. When these antibodies wear off, the baby is at risk of serious infection.

Most childhood immunisations are given as an injection in the arm or leg, except Rotavirus which is administered orally. Vaccines may protect against one specific disease or provide immunity for several diseases if a number of antigens are combined in the same vaccine. This can help reduce the number of injections your child needs to have.

Victorian Childhood Immunisation Schedule
The Victorian Childhood Immunisation Schedule outlines the vaccines that are routinely provided free of charge to all Victorian children under the National Immunisation Program and the age at which each should be given. New vaccines against serious infections continue to be developed.

Age	Disease	Vaccine	Common reactions
Birth	Hepatitis B	HB VaxII Paediatric	Mild temperature
2 months	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)	Infanrix hexa	Mild temperature, drowsiness, irritability/crying
	Pneumococcal	Prevenar	Mild temperature, pain at the injection site
	Rotavirus	RotaTeq	Mild temperature, vomiting and diarrhoea up to 7 days after immunisation
4 months	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)	Infanrix hexa	Mild temperature, drowsiness, irritability/crying
	Pneumococcal	Prevenar	Mild temperature, pain at the injection site
	Rotavirus	RotaTeq	Mild temperature, vomiting and diarrhoea up to 7 days after immunisation
6 months	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)	Infanrix hexa	Mild temperature, drowsiness, irritability/crying
	Pneumococcal	Prevenar	Mild temperature, pain at the injection site
	Rotavirus	RotaTeq	Mild temperature, vomiting and diarrhoea up to 7 days after immunisation
12 months	Measles/mumps/rubella	Priorix	High fever (over 39°C), faint red rash, drowsiness, runny nose, cough or puffy eyes, swollen salivary glands
	Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)	Hiberix	Mild temperature
	Meningococcal C	NeisVac C	Mild temperature, loss of appetite, irritability/crying
18 months	Chickenpox	Varilrix	High fever (over 39°C), mild chickenpox-like rash (usually at injection site), possible mild dose of chickenpox
4 years	Diphtheria/tetanus/ pertussis/polio	Infanrix IPV	Mild temperature, irritability/crying, drowsiness
	Measles/mumps/rubella	Priorix	High fever (over 39°C), faint red rash, drowsiness, runny nose, cough or puffy eyes, swollen salivary glands

It is important to immunise your child
All parents must provide a school entry immunisation certificate when they enrol their child in primary school. This is a document that shows your child’s immunisation status. It is automatically provided to you once your child has completed their four-year-old vaccine schedule. Alternatively, you can arrange to get a certificate for your child by contacting the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register on 1800 653 890 or your local council.

To encourage parents to immunise their children at the appropriate age, the Australian Government also provides a Maternity Immunisation Allowance (MIA). This payment is not income tested and is paid in two instalments. The first amount is paid if your child is immunised between 18 and 24 months of age, while the second amount will be paid after the four-year-old immunisations.

Preparing for your child’s immunisation
It is important to take your child’s Child Health Record with you to each immunisation session so that the doctor, nurse or health worker can record your child’s visit. These records are an important reminder of when your child’s next immunisations are due and which children in the family are immunised.

Before the immunisation, you need to tell the doctor or nurse if your child:

• Is unwell
• Has had a severe reaction following any vaccine
• Has any severe allergies (to anything)
• Has had any vaccine in the past month
• Has had an injection of immunoglobulin or received any blood products or a whole blood transfusion within the past year
• Has a disease which lowers immunity (such as leukaemia, cancer or HIV/AIDS) or is having treatment that causes low immunity (for example, oral steroid medicines such as cortisone or prednisone, radiotherapy or chemotherapy)
• Was a pre-term infant
• Has a chronic illness
• Has a bleeding disorder
• Lives with someone who has a disease or is having treatment that causes low immunity (such as leukaemia, cancer or HIV/AIDS) or is having treatment that causes low immunity (for example, oral steroid medicines such as cortisone or prednisone, radiotherapy or chemotherapy)
• Is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island descent
• Does not have a functioning spleen.

• Your doctor
• Your local community health centre
• Your Maternal and Child Health nurse
• Your local council
• Immunisation Program, Department of Health Victoria Tel. 1300 882 008
• Australian Childhood Immunisation Register Tel. 1800 653 890
• National Immunisation Infoline Tel. 1800 671 811

• Immunisation from an early age is highly recommended for all Australian children to protect them against the most serious childhood infections.
• The Victorian Childhood Immunisation Schedule outlines the vaccines your child needs and the age at which each should be given.
• Some groups are more at risk than others in the community and may need additional vaccines.
• Remain in the clinic with your child for 15 minutes after their immunisation to be sure there are no immediate adverse reactions.

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