From the 1st July 2013, a number of changes to the National Immunisation Program Schedule come into effect.
These include:
* The availability of a new measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine. This vaccine has been added to the schedule at 18-months and replaces both the second dose of MMR vaccine (previously at 4 years) and monovalent varicella vaccine (18 months).
* A combined Haemophilus influenzae type b and meningococcal C (Hib-MenC) vaccine will be added to the National Immunisation Program (NIP) schedule at 12-months. This combined vaccine replaces the monovalent MenCV and Hib vaccines.
You may have received materials outlining these changes. However, a number of resources on the use of MMRV are available on the Immunise Australia website:
The NIP schedule card, updated to reflect the changes that came into effect 1st July, is now available on the Immunise Australia website.
For more information feel free to follow the link below to an article for the academic news site The Conversation written by NCIRS staff Kristine Macartney and Dr Melina Georgousakis, explaining these changes: https://
Also coming into effect as of July 1 are changes to the criteria for eligibility for the Family Tax Benefit Part A supplement, with the definition of ‘fully immunised’ expanded to include the meningococcal C, pneumococcal conjugate and varicella vaccines. More information can be found: http://immunise.health.
Author: Dr Margie Danchin MBBS PhD FRACP
Paediatrician, Department of General Medicine, The Royal Children’s Hospital
Research Fellow, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Senior Fellow, Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne