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Boost to Australia's national immunisation program

The Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Kay Patterson, today announced an expansion of Australia's childhood vaccination program to include funding for a new adolescent dose of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (dTpa) vaccine and an expansion of the childhood pneumococcal vaccination program.

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19 September 2003

Boost to Australia's national immunisation program

The Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Kay Patterson, today announced an expansion of Australia's childhood vaccination program to include funding for a new adolescent dose of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (dTpa) vaccine and an expansion of the childhood pneumococcal vaccination program.

The announcement follows recommendations to the Minister from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

Senator Patterson said the expansion of the childhood vaccination program demonstrated the Howard Government's commitment to increased rates of vaccination (which are 91.4 per cent this year) and the decline in vaccine preventable diseases in Australia.

A new single dose of dTpa vaccine is to be given to teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17 years. In addition to covering diphtheria and tetanus, this new vaccine now provides coverage for pertussis. This vaccine replaces the former dose of diphtheria-tetanus only vaccine at 15-17 years of age. The vaccine aims to reduce the significant number of teenage whooping cough cases each year. It will also protect children too young to be immunised against whooping cough who contract this disease from their older siblings and young adults.

Senator Patterson also announced the removal from the National Immunisation Program of the dose of DTPa vaccine given to children at 18 months of age. This has been removed in line with technical advice from ATAGI that the dose is now considered unnecessary because of the high levels of immunity from the primary course of vaccinations at 2, 4 and 6 months of age. The 18-month dose also has an increased risk of minor adverse events following immunisation. Instead the fourth dose of DTPa will be given at four years.

The expansion of the childhood pneumococcal vaccination program will provide free pneumococcal vaccine to additional groups of children with identified predisposing medical conditions. The expanded groups to receive the vaccine free are: all children born at less than 28 weeks gestation; all premature infants with chronic lung disease; children under the age of five years with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, Down Syndrome or cystic fibrosis; children with cochlear implants and children with intracranial shunts.

The expanded pneumococcal vaccination program will provide free pneumococcal vaccine to nearly 10,000 extra children over the next year. The national pneumococcal program over four years will provide access to free vaccine for 91,000 children.

"In 2001, the Government committed $23.46 million over four years to introduce a vaccination program to protect infants and children who were at highest risk of pneumococcal disease. Today's announcement is an expansion of that commitment," Senator Patterson said.

The Minister said that the Government had not ruled out funding other ATAGI recommendations that were yesterday endorsed by the National Health and Medical Research Council for inclusion on the Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule.

Senator Patterson said although all vaccines listed on the new Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule are available for use in Australia, not all are subsidised by the Government under the National Immunisation Program.

"This is the same as both Canada and The Netherlands. They have vaccination schedules that act as a guide to immunisation providers separate from nationally-funded immunisation programs which provide free vaccines to specified target groups,4 she said.

Senator Patterson said parents will not be disadvantaged by changes to the Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule with respect to their eligibility to claim the Maternity Immunisation Allowance and the Child Care Benefit Allowance.

"The revised vaccination schedule approved by the NHMRC yesterday includes some childhood vaccines that are not currently funded under the National Immunisation Program (universal conjugate pneumococcal vaccine, inactivated polio vaccine and chickenpox vaccine). I can assure parents that they only have to show that their children are fully immunised with the specified vaccines that are provided free to be eligible for family benefit payments.

"We doubled expenditure on immunisation last financial year, spending a record $190 million on vaccines.

"Last year the Howard Government announced the $298 million National Meningococcal C Vaccination Program which is the most expensive vaccination program ever seen in Australia," she said.

"Australia's Immunisation Program annual expenditure is now seven times larger since the Coalition took government in 1996. Under our "Immunise Australia Program - the 7 Point Plan," infant vaccination rates have risen from as low as 53 per cent when Labor were in Government. The Howard Government has increased rates to 91.4 per cent this year and the number of vaccine preventable diseases in Australia continues to decline," Senator Patterson said.

Media inquiries: Randal Markey, Media Adviser, (02) 6277 7220; Sarah Higginbottom, Assistant Media Adviser, (03) 9657 9577