Read more on Department of Health website. You can get vaccinations from a range of vaccination providers, including your local GP and school-based immunisation programs. Find out how to protect your kids from infectious diseases.
Keep up to date with the Childhood National Immunisation Program schedule. Read more on Immunisation Coalition website. The COVID pandemic has led to a decrease in children getting their routine childhood vaccinations. Read more on Australian Prescriber website. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has released its advice for immunisation providers regarding the administration of seasonal influenza vaccines.
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Your name: is required Error: This is required. Your email: is required Error: This is required Error: Not a valid value. Send to: is required Error: This is required Error: Not a valid value. On this page How does immunisation work? Giving your child three separate vaccines could be harmful because it leaves them open to catching measles, mumps or rubella. No link has been found between the MMR vaccine and autism or bowel disease. Your child may have redness and swelling in their arm where the injection was given.
MMR has three vaccines in one injection. The vaccines work at different times and can cause side effects. About a week to 10 days after MMR vaccination, when the measles part of the vaccine starts to work, some children might become feverish, lose their appetite and develop a measles-like rash. This may last about one to two days.
About two weeks after vaccination, when the rubella part of the vaccine starts to work, your child might get a rash of small bruise-like spots. This is a rare side effect. If you see this rash, tell your doctor. The rash usually heals without treatment.
About three weeks after vaccination, when the mumps part of the vaccine starts to work, your child might get a mild form of mumps. This is a rare side effect and will heal without treatment. On rare occasions, 1 in children may have a fit due to a high temperature caused by the MMR vaccine.
Children that get measles disease are more likely to have a fit from a high temperature than after the MMR vaccine. Anaphylaxis serious allergic reactions after MMR vaccine is extremely rare and only occurs in around one person for every 4 to 14 million doses given.
Anaphylaxis can happen within minutes of a child getting vaccinated. This reaction means your child is allergic to an ingredient in a vaccine. Before your child has further vaccines, you must tell the doctor or nurse about any previous allergic reaction.
In extremely rare occasions, around one child in over ,, the MMR vaccine may cause encephalitis inflammation of the brain. This compares with one child in every 5, with measles disease developing encephalitis as a complication.
Very rarely, babies can have an allergic reaction to the vaccine. Strict procedures are followed when vaccines are made to ensure they are safe. Before a vaccine can be approved for use, it is trialled extensively, sometimes with tens of thousands of people. These clinical trials with volunteers can take several years. Before a vaccine is approved for use in New Zealand, the manufacturer must demonstrate its safety and effectiveness to the satisfaction of Medsafe, a division of the Ministry of Health.
After a vaccine is introduced, its safety continues to be monitored for the duration of its use. The safety of vaccines is monitored internationally using many different methods. You can also report a suspected reaction to CARM by calling 03 or reporting it online www. The information provided to CARM by doctors, nurses and parents will assist in identifying those children who should receive follow-up immunisation in a controlled environment, such as a hospital.
Minor reactions such as mild fever, pain, or redness where the injection was given are usually not reported to CARM see the Reactions to immunisations section for information on mild reactions. In addition to this type of safety monitoring, there are ongoing studies that compare people who are vaccinated with people who are not vaccinated to ensure the vaccines we use are as safe as possible.
The National Immunisation Schedule recommends that children be immunised for protection from 12 preventable diseases before they are 5 years old. More information about these diseases can be found in the Vaccines and the diseases they protect against and the Diseases and reactions to vaccines sections.
Babies and children have the best chance of developing immunity against these diseases if they receive the immunisations at the ages recommended on the National Immunisation Schedule. Most vaccines need more than one dose to ensure protection. Some parents ask if the combined vaccines can be separated. In New Zealand, most vaccines on the National Immunisation Schedule are combined and not available singly.
Combined vaccines mean fewer injections. However, single hib, single polio and single hepatitis B vaccines are available for the few children for whom pertussis vaccine is not recommended.
There are very few children who should not be immunised. However, if your child has had a serious reaction to a vaccine, is being treated for cancer or other severe illness, or has had a blood transfusion or other blood products in the last year, you should talk to your doctor, specialist or nurse before the immunisation.
Children with asthma, allergies or who are recovering from an illness such as a common cold can still be immunised. Babies and children come into contact with millions of viruses and bacteria every day from the moment they are born, and their immune systems are constantly responding to these.
Combined vaccines such as measles, mumps and rubella MMR mean fewer visits to the doctor and fewer injections. Combined vaccines do not overload the immune system. Modern vaccines have fewer antigens disease particles than in previous decades, even though they protect against more diseases, because of improved manufacturing processes.
When more than one vaccine is given in one visit, those vaccines have been tested to ensure that they are safe and effective to be given at the same time. If you think your child has had one of the diseases, talk to your doctor, who will be able to tell you about tests that are available for a small fee to check for existing antibodies against measles, mumps, rubella and hepatitis B.
If your child is already immune to one of the diseases in the MMR vaccine, they will still need to be protected against the others. There are no additional risks to vaccinating a person who has already had the disease. The following section tells you more about the vaccines on the National Immunisation Schedule for young children. It includes:. They should receive it at 6 weeks old, 3 months old and 5 months old. The vaccine is given by an injection in the arm or leg.
Refer to the National Immunisation Schedule for information about the booster immunisations your child will need when they are older. Diphtheria is a serious disease that can quickly lead to breathing problems. It is caused by bacteria that attack the lining of the nose, mouth and throat. It can damage the heart and in severe cases it can lead to death. Diphtheria is now rare in New Zealand thanks to immunisation. However, there is still a risk that diphtheria could enter New Zealand from overseas.
Tetanus is a painful disease that affects the muscles. It can cause breathing problems, muscle stiffness and severe muscle spasms. It is caused by a common bacteria found in soil and enters the body through cuts and grazes. The only way to build immunity is by immunisation. Whooping cough pertussis is a serious infection that can cause coughing and choking that make it hard to breathe. It can last for up to 10 weeks and some people will need hospital care.
Whooping cough is a common disease in New Zealand. This disease is most serious in infants. Polio is a virus found in the nose and throat. It is spread by coughing, sneezing and sharing drink bottles. It infects the bowel and can attack the nervous system. In severe cases it may cause paralysis and even death. Polio has disappeared from New Zealand and most parts of the world as a result of immunisation.
However, there is still a risk that polio could enter New Zealand from overseas. Hepatitis B is a virus that is passed on through body fluids. It can be passed from pregnant women to their babies, particularly during birth. Hepatitis B causes liver infection and serious illness. Infected children are more likely to carry the virus long term and can eventually develop liver cancer or liver failure. Hepatitis B has declined considerably since the vaccine was introduced in New Zealand.
Hib is bacteria found in the nose and throat and spread by coughing and sneezing. It can cause a number of major illnesses, including meningitis, epiglottitis, blood poisoning and pneumonia. All of these illnesses can lead to death if they are not treated quickly. Hib used to be the most common cause of life-threatening bacterial infection in children under 5 years old. Immunisation has made it rare in New Zealand.
A small number of children who are immunised may still become ill. If they do, they usually get a milder illness than people who have not been immunised. Most children will not feel any effects from the immunisation but some may experience some mild reactions within 6 hours of the injection. The most common reactions include:. See the Reactions to immunisations section for advice on what to do if your baby has a reaction. Rotavirus vaccine is given as a course of 2 doses at 6 weeks old and 3 months old, orally as drops in the mouth.
The course must be started before your baby is 15 weeks old. The vaccine protects against rotavirus, a highly infectious type of gastroenteritis or tummy bug. Rotavirus can lead to severe dehydration and in some cases death. While death is extremely unlikely in New Zealand, many children are hospitalised with this disease. Studies show that immunisation is the best way to stop babies catching rotavirus.
Without immunisation, almost all children will catch rotavirus before they are 5 years old. Immunisation prevents most rotavirus infections, and almost all severe rotavirus infections. The first dose must be given before babies are 15 weeks old. Most babies will not feel any effects from the immunisation. The most common reactions include mild irritability, mild diarrhoea or vomiting in the week after vaccination, similar to babies who have not received the vaccine.
There may be a small risk of intussusception a kind of bowel blockage associated with the rotavirus vaccine. This occurs naturally in some babies each year, and the cause is not known in most cases. Signs include severe crying and tummy pain. Babies might draw their legs up to their chest as if they have colic, and may also vomit or have blood in their poo.
If this happens, you should take your baby to a doctor or hospital emergency department straight away. Tell the hospital when your baby got the vaccine.
The possible increased risk of intussusception estimated at 1 to 5 per , is very small compared to the risks of rotavirus infection per , children aged under 3 years old are hospitalised annually in New Zealand. Pneumococcal pronounced new-mo-cock-al is one of the most common causes of meningitis, severe ear infections and pneumonia.
Babies need 3 doses of the pneumococcal immunisation for protection. They should be immunised at 6 weeks, 5 months and 12 months of age. Pneumococcal is a serious infection common in children younger than 5 years old.
It is caused by a bacteria found in the throat. It is spread through the air by coughing and sneezing. Pneumococcal is also common in elderly people and people with certain medical conditions. The rate of pneumococcal disease in children under the age of 2 years has halved since immunisation was introduced. Studies show that more than 9 out of 10 children are protected after 3 doses of the vaccine. Palmu et al The Lancet. Most children will not feel any effects from the immunisation but some babies may experience a mild reaction within 6 hours of the injection.
This immunisation protects your child against three diseases: M easles, M umps and R ubella. Rubella is also known as German measles. Children need the their first MMR immunisation when they are 12 months old. They will need a second immunisation when they are 15 months. Measles is a very infectious virus. Before immunisation was introduced, nearly all children caught measles. Measles causes a rash, high fever, runny nose, cough and sore watery eyes. Severe cases can result in pneumonia, encephalitis swelling in the brain , diarrhoea and rarely, death.
Mumps is caused by a virus and is spread through the air. Mumps causes fever, headache and swelling of the glands around the face.
Mumps can also cause meningitis and encephalitis. Infertility among young men who get mumps is rare. Rubella is usually a mild, viral illness. It causes a rash, fever and swollen glands in children.
It is extremely dangerous for pregnant women because it can cause deafness, blindness and brain damage in an unborn baby. A small number of people who are immunised may still become ill. If that happens, they usually get a milder illness than people who have not been immunised.
Most children will not feel any effects from the immunisation but some fewer than 1 in 10 may experience a mild response between 5 and 12 days after immunisation. Chickenpox varicella is a common virus that causes an itchy skin rash and blisters. It is usually mild, but can lead to skin infections and more serious complications such as blood infections, pneumonia, inflammation of the brain, and eye and kidney problems.
Without vaccination nearly all children will get chickenpox between the ages of 2 and 10 years old. Teenagers and adults are more likely to develop complications than children. Chickenpox is serious for pregnant women because it can cause damage to unborn babies. One dose of chickenpox vaccine is given free at age 15 months.
Children turning 11 years of age who have not previously been infected with or vaccinated against chickenpox are also eligible for a free dose. One dose of the vaccine will protect around four out of five people from any kind of chickenpox and almost everyone from severe chickenpox. Some people who have been vaccinated will still get chickenpox, but they will have a milder illness.
Most children will not feel any effects from the immunisation, but some may experience mild reactions such as fever and injection site tenderness, similar to other childhood vaccines. About one in twenty children develop a mild rash between 5 and 26 days after immunisation.
In rare cases, this can be contagious — keep any blisters covered and stay away from anyone at risk of severe disease, such as people with weakened immune systems, babies or pregnant women.
The following immunisations are not funded as part of the National Immunisation Schedule, unless your child has particular serious health conditions that affect their immunity. Talk to your family doctor or nurse about whether your child is eligible for these funded vaccines.
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