1-3 The Terrace
P.O Box 5013
Wellington
Date:
30 June 2014
Pages: 1 of 2
To:
General Practitioners, Practice Nurses, Practice Managers, Health Professionals
From:
Rayoni Keith, Manager, Immunisation
Subject:
Coverage update, Measles Update, Schedule Changes NIR/PMS changes,
RotaTeq catch-up, Ordering the new vaccines, Errata in Immunisation
Handbook 2014, New Resources, Changes to serology testing
Coverage update
Immunisation figures for infants at eight months old remain steady on 91% nationwide. The
Ministry continues to support efforts to increase infant immunisation rates by commissioning radio
advertising, with more to follow in the coming months to support on time immunisation, including a
focus on the new rotavirus vaccine. The Ministry has been sending weekly updates to DHBs and
PHOs on their coverage rates, which are beginning to trend upwards.
Measles update
Measles is now spreading to other regions, with cases reported in Hawkes Bay and Taranaki,
as well as in Waikato. Medical centres in Waikato have been very busy checking vaccination
records for children excluded from school, and providing catch-up vaccination. The Ministry of
Health has asked centres there to pre-call and vaccinate those who are not up to date.
Medical centres in regions not yet experiencing a measles outbreak should pre-emptively
ensure that their vaccination records, particularly for those aged 10-24, are easily retrievable
in the event that the outbreak spreads. This age group has been most heavily affected by the
outbreak, and their information is not available on the National Immunisation Register (NIR).
Pro-active vaccination now will save effort in the long run as the spread of the disease is likely
to place a heavy demand on health resources. Please take every opportunity you have to
immunise your patients, and after 1 July 2014, record MMR on the NIR for everyone.
MMR is funded for everyone born from 1 January 1969 onwards who has not had two doses.
National Immunisation Schedule changes effective from 1 July 2014
NIR and PMS changes
The NIR, your local practice management systems (PMS) and Proclaim have been updated for the
Schedule changes. Please ensure that you update your PMS with the new software before 1
July 2014 (Intrahealth may not release their updates until 1 July or later – please contact them if
you have any concerns). The payment system will not work for the new vaccines until 1 July.
Please call 0800 281 222 for any issues regarding the payment system. For issues related to your
PMS update please contact your PMS vendor:
PMS
Phone number
Medtech
0800 2MEDTECH (263 3832)
Houston
My Practice
Intrahealth
0800 401 111 extension 1
0800 myPractice (0800 69 77 22)
0508 300 900
Build number
Medtech32 v20.11
Medtech Evolution 1.4.2.17
Houston VIP v9.14d
My Practice v14.5.5288.41885
(tbc)
From 1 July please record the following vaccines on the NIR for both children and adults who meet
the eligibility criteria for these publicly funded vaccines: Rotavirus (RV5), Meningococcal C
(MenCCV), Influenza, Varicella (VV), MMR, Hepatitis A, Tdap (dTap) - pregnant woman, Hepatitis
B, and Meningococcal A, C, Y and W135 (MCV4-D).
Key Schedule Changes
The key Schedule changes are listed on the Ministry of Health website
http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/preventative-health-wellness/immunisation/new-zealandimmunisation-schedule/2014-immunisation-schedule-change
at
®
RotaTeq vaccine catch-up for babies born 19 March to 19 May 2014
Babies born between 19 March and 19 May 2014 can be offered the RotaTeq vaccine from 1 July
2014 ONLY if the first dose is given BEFORE they are 15 weeks old.
Babies born 19–24 March will have less than one week to receive their first RotaTeq® dose.
Babies born 25–31 March will have until 7-14 July to receive their first RotaTeq® dose.
Rules for RotaTeq® catch-up doses
The first RotaTeq® dose MUST be given before 15 weeks of age, i.e. up to and including 14
weeks and 6 days old. The two remaining RotaTeq® doses must be completed before 8 months of
age. A minimum interval of four weeks is required between each of the three doses.
Ordering the new vaccines
The RotaTeq vaccine can be ordered from your local ProPharma supplier.
Prevenar 13 will be distributed once existing stocks of Synflorix have been used – this is likely to
be during August. In the interim single doses of Prevenar 13 will continue to be available on an ‘as
needed basis’ only for children who meet the high risk eligibility criteria.
Please check the ProPharma website at www.fundedvaccines.co.nz before booking patients who
will be eligible for the new special group vaccines as some of these vaccines are not yet available.
Note: the funded vaccines Menactra, NeisVac-C and Varilrix will only be available on an ‘as
needed basis’. Please do not stockpile doses of these vaccines in your fridge.
Errata in Immunisation Handbook 2014
The Immunisation Handbook 2014 is available online and as an e-pub version for use on tablets or
e-readers on the Ministry of Health website at www.health.govt.nz/publication/immunisationhandbook-2014
Chapter 11 Measles - contains errors on p289 & p298, which have been amended in the PDF
version. The online and e-pub editions will be amended in the next version update. Please make
the following corrections to your hardcopy handbook version:
 p289 Key Information “Funded vaccines” – first dot point “1969” corrected to “1968” and
“5 doses” corrected to “2 doses”.
 p298 title - Adults born after “1969” corrected to “1968”
 p298 para one – All individuals born “since 1969” corrected to “after 1968” who…..
 p298 para four – All persons born ”since 1969” corrected to “after 1968”.
New resources are now available from HealthEd
New resources supporting the 2014 National Immunisation Schedule are now listed and available
to order from HealthEd at this link. Alternatively, browse to the Health Topic: Immunisation and
Vaccination on the site, and sort by revision date.
Changes to serology testing for babies born to mothers with chronic hepatitis B infection
Babies who are born to mothers who are HBsAg positive require serological testing at around 9
months of age. This is a change from the previous recommendation for serological testing at age 5
months. These babies should still receive a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B
immunoglobulin as well as the vaccines given at ages 6 weeks, 3 months and 5 months. Changes
will be made to record the outcome of the serological testing on the NIR but these will not be
completed by 1 July.
If you have any queries about anything in this update, please email
[email protected].