Australia

A wide range of resources are available to immunisation health professionals seeking information on vaccines, vaccine-preventable diseases and immunisation programs.

Immunisation - The Australian Government Department of Health website contains information about immunisation schedules, immunisation programs, and fact sheets for parents and providers. 

The Australian Immunisation Handbook  - provides clinical advice for health professionals on the safest and most effective use of vaccines in their practice.

Questions about vaccination - provides answers to many common questions about vaccination. It is designed to help parents find out more about vaccines and the most recent evidence about their safety and effectiveness and to help doctors answer questions from their patients.

Strive for 5 - national vaccine storage guidelines

Communicable Diseases Intelligence - This quarterly publication contains a number of immunisation-related reports, including updates regarding coverage data from the Australian Immunisation Register, published reports regarding annual adverse events following immunisation and vaccine preventable diseases vaccine coverage reports.

Australian Academy of Science - The science of immunisation: questions and answers - provides answers to questions such as what is immunisation, what's in a vaccine, who benefits from vaccines, and many more. 

National immunisation catch-up calculator - The Australian Government Department has developed a national immunisation catch-up calculator which helps providers calculate which vaccines are due for children up to the age of 10 years.

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) – the TGA is the Australian national regulatory agency and operates the adverse events management system (AEMS), which provides information on how to report an adverse event following immunisation.

State and territory health departments fact sheets 

Other useful resources

International

When accessing information from international websites, note that many countries use different vaccine formulations and quite different schedules to those recommended in Australia.

World Health Organization Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals – includes information on national programs, global disease surveillance, vaccine research and a set of useful resources.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – provides comprehensive information on diseases that vaccines can prevent, the importance of immunisation, vaccine safety and educational resources.

Immunization Academy's IA Watch - IA Watch is a global learning initiative providing rapid access to short, practical videos that enhance immunization training and delivery in the field. 

Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI; formerly the Global Fund for Children's Vaccines) – an alliance of international organisations (WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank Group), governments of developing and industrialised countries, research institutions, the vaccine industry and major philanthropists (the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).

Vaccine Education Center (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) – provides information and resources regarding vaccine safety, vaccines and the immune system, vaccine ingredients, and vaccines and chronic conditions.

Immunisation Advisory Centre (IMAC), New Zealand – provides independent and factual information, including benefits and risks regarding immunisation and vaccine preventable diseases, and information and training for health professionals.

PATH's Vaccine Resource Library (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) – a comprehensive listing of materials on specific diseases and topics in immunization, gathered by PATH from global health partners including the World Health Organization, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the GAVI Alliance and many others. 

 

Last updated April 2023