Australia's childhood immunization program gets very good uptake every year—almost 94% of 5-year-oldshave had all their routine vaccinations. But our influenza vaccine coverage doesn't get such a good report card. Looking back overrecent years, for kids aged 6 months to 5 years, we saw a...
"Despite being a high-risk population, pregnant women are often excluded fromvaccine trials, priority access to therapeutics and delayed entry into public health vaccination programs. Aparadigm shiftis required to routinely include pregnant women in pandemic preparedness programs to avoid preventable deaths...
Asia must share bird flu virus, vaccine -AustraliaGenetic Tracking & Scientfic Analysis of Pandemic Influenza & Other DiseasesReleasing the Sequences
“There’s a very good match between what’s in our vaccine and the circulating strains in Australia, (and) the influenza virus hasn’t mutated in a way that has us especially concerned,” says Schaffner. However, it's hard to tell how well the flu shots for the 2024-2025 season will...
There is another form of influenza vaccine known as thelive attenuated intranasal vaccine(LAIV). These have been in use overseas since 2003, but have not yet been licensed in Australia.LAIV are given by squirting the vaccine into the nose (as a nasal spray), so injection is not required. ...
Are We Prepared for Bird Flu Spreading Between Humans?May 30, 2024 Australia is well placed to quickly create a vaccine should a strain of bird flu infect the human population, according to experts.Although cases of bird flu infecting humans are rare, and only limited, non-sustained, human-...
COVID-19 vaccine is available for those who need primary doses (1st & 2nd) as well as booster doses. People in the high-priority groups have the highest chance of becoming seriously ill or dying. The Ministry says revaccination with booster doses is recommended only for persons in ...
To drive flu infections down even further, as many people as possible should also get this year's flu shot, Cioe-Pena advised. "I think people lose sight of the fact that we have a vaccine for flu," Cioe-Pena said. "The flu vaccine combined with the COVID social distancing measures ...
may also unintentionally expose their patients to the illness. Influenza vaccination of healthcare workers is probably the best way to prevent this occurring. For this reason, specialist groups in Australia are working hard to ensure as many healthcare workers as possible receive the flu vaccine. ...
''We know now what to do and we have more time to control a pandemic, if and when one occurs. Importantly, if a new flu vaccine is rolled out to protect us more broadly from the flu or from a specific virus such as H5N1, then get it.''...