health
immunisation
know-how
By Theo Brandt**
Did you know that you can vaccinate against more than twelve different
diseases? Do you have questions about how vaccines work? Find out
everything you need to know about how they can help protect you and your
family against serious disease.
Everyone would agree that keeping their family healthy and
happy is a top priority. Unfortunately, even the healthiest people
can be affected by diseases circulating in our communities, and
young babies are particularly at risk of serious complications from
them. Immunisation is a highly safe and effective way of helping
age
diseases covered and vaccines
6-weeks
(2 injections, 1 oral dose)
3-months
(2 injections, 1 oral dose)
prevent some potentially serious diseases. Most of the vaccines
5-months
combine protection against more than one disease, meaning less
(2 injections, 1 oral dose)
injections for your baby, and less tears all round!
15-months
The National Immunisation Schedule
Starting at the age of 6-weeks, four visits up to age 15-months
provide the majority of immunisations. Two more visits at 4- and
(3 injections)
4-years
(2 injections)
11-years boost the effectiveness of earlier immunisations. For
11-years
12- year-old girls, there is also the Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
(1 injection)
Immunisation Programme, a series of three injections over
12 years
six months.
(girls only)
how vaccines work
When germs invade the body, our immune
system deals with them by producing
things called antibodies that attack and
destroy the germ. When we first come
across that germ, our immune response is
often slow and we may get sick.
Afterwards, our immune system creates a
memory for how to make the antibodies for
that germ so next time, it responds quickly
and usually deals with it before we get sick.
Vaccines work in the same way, but use a
weakened, inactive form or fragment of the
germ. In response to a vaccine, our immune
system produces antibodies and memory to
protect against the germ when we are
exposed to it at a later date. Most vaccine
memory lasts for many years, even life, but
for some it can drop off over time; requiring
booster shots to boost the immune memory.
vaccines don’t make you sick
Vaccines will not cause or give you the
disease. Vaccines don’t provide 100%
protection to all people, but if most people are
immunised, the spread of the germ is reduced,
which protects the whole community. You
need to have all the recommended doses of a
vaccine to make sure it can do the best job of
protecting possible.
whooping cough
– an ongoing threat
Pertussis (whooping cough) is one
vaccine-preventable disease that keeps on
coming back, with large outbreaks every
few years. Whooping cough causes severe
bouts of coughing, which may be
accompanied by vomiting and a ‘whooping’
sound. It can last up to three months.
Around 7 out of 10 babies who catch
whooping cough before the age of
6-months end up in hospital. Severe
Diphtheria / Tetanus / Whooping cough / Polio / Hepatitis B /
Haemophilus influenzae type b
Pneumococcal
Rotavirus
Haemophilus influenzae type b
Measles / Mumps / Rubella
Pneumococcal
Diphtheria / Tetanus / Whooping cough / Polio
Measles / Mumps / Rubella
Diphtheria / Tetanus /
Whooping cough
Human papillomavirus
3 doses given over 6 months
coughing can temporarily stop the oxygen
supply to the brain (hypoxia). In around two
in 1000 children, whooping cough infection
leads to permanent brain damage,
paralysis, deafness or blindness.
Secondary infections such as pneumonia
and ear infections can occur. It is much
harder to recognise whooping cough in
adults and it’s likely that up to 20% of
adults with a persistent cough, lasting
more that 2-3 weeks, have in fact got
whooping cough. It is easy for adults and
older children to pass on whooping cough
to babies in their family, before they are old
chicken pox (varicella)
enough to be immunised
meningococcal disease- A,B,C,Y and
rotavirus
W-135. Most cases in NZ are types C
Rotavirus is a common and highly
contagious virus that infects the gut
causing diarrhoea and vomiting in infants
and young children. Without immunisation,
almost all children in the world are infected
by rotavirus before age 5. The rotavirus
vaccine is given orally (no needles!). The
first dose is given to babies at 6-weeks.
In a typical year, NZ is estimated to
experience approximately 50,000
chicken pox infections, of which about
400 result in hospitalisation, and one to
two cases result in long term disability or
death. There are two different varicella
vaccines available, so the timing of the
immunisation will depend upon which
vaccine is given, but the earliest dose
can be at 9-months.
meningococcal
There are five main types of
or B. This is a bacteria that can live in the
back of the throat and sometimes cause
very severe disease, spreading through
the bloodstream (causing blood
poisoning) or to the brain (causing
meningitis). Young children and
teenagers/young adults are the most
commonly affected.
The second and third doses are given at 3
While a vaccine for B is not yet available
and 5 months, with the other vaccines.
in NZ, there are a number of vaccines
other vaccines
worth considering
for type C. Children and young adults
There are other important vaccines that are
these vaccines. Because they don’t
licensed and available in New Zealand, but
not provided free on the National
Immunisation Schedule. Chicken pox is very
common and, in a small number of cases,
the complications from this disease are very
serious. While most people will have to pay
for this vaccine, some who are more likely to
get very sick can get the chicken pox
vaccine for free. Talk to your family doctor
about purchasing this vaccine.
heading off to study and live in hosteltype accommodation should consider
protect you for life, the choice and
timing of vaccine is important to give
maximum benefit.
** Theo is a father to two teen-aged
children and works for the
Immunisation Advisory Centre.
For more information, visit the
Immunisation Advisory Centre website
www.immune.org.nz or Freephone
0800 IMMUNE (0800 466 863).
tips for the
immunisation visit
Before and during
the immunisation
1 Try to remain calm and relaxed, even if
your child becomes upset.
2 Bring along a special toy or blanket for
your child to hold, or use it to distract
them.
3 Hold your child firmly during the
procedure, talking calmly and gently
stroking the child’s arm or back to
reassure them.
After the immunisation
1 After the injection your child may cry
for a brief time, it’s their way of coping.
2 Don’t rub the injection site.
3 Feeding your baby straight after their
immunisation will help them settle.
4 You will need to remain in the clinic for
20 minutes after the immunisation.
Most children experience little or no
ill-effects after immunisations.
5 Some of the minor effects reported
are mild fever, tenderness or swelling
and redness at the site of the injection.
An ice pack wrapped well in a dry, cool
cloth can be held over the injection site
if it is sore.
6 If your child gets hot, undress them
down to a single layer, for example, a
singlet and pants.
7 Make sure the room is not too hot
or too cold.
Medication for
temperature or pain
1 If your child is miserable because of
a fever or pain, consider using
paracetamol or ibuprofen.
2 Do follow the dosage instructions on
the bottle. It is dangerous to give more
than recommended.
3 Giving paracetamol before and
repeatedly after immunisation ‘just
in case’ they feel unwell is NOT
recommended and may interfere
with the immune response.