(VIS) 'National Immunisation Program schedule’
Nurse Deidre Brogan: Today, I’m going to talk about the childhood immunisation schedule. I want to help explain why children are recommended to receive the vaccines listed on the immunisation schedule. Under Australia’s National Immunisation Program, children are scheduled to receive free vaccines from birth to 4 years. There are different vaccines recommended at different ages.
The schedule is carefully planned around the severity of diseases at different ages, the number of vaccine doses needed to provide the best protection and which diseases children in Australia are most likely to be exposed to. Some diseases are much more severe when very young babies get them, so we vaccinate early. An example is the whooping cough vaccine. In the schedule, we know that some vaccines don’t work as well if babies get them too young, so we give them when they’re older. An example is the measles vaccine.
The schedule includes some combination vaccines. This means children are protected from more diseases with fewer injections in a single appointment. The MMR vaccine is an example of a combination vaccine. Through this one injection, children receive measles, mumps and rubella immunisations. This means less stress and pain for your child, and fewer appointments. It’s completely safe for children to receive multiple vaccines at the same time. Their immune systems are strong enough for multiple vaccinations in one visit. Without the vaccinations, children are at risk of complications from these diseases.
If you have any questions about the schedule, have a chat to your health professional or visit health.gov.au/childhoodimmunisation.
Vaccines under the National Immunisation Program are a safe, free and effective way to protect your child from serious disease.