Isn’t there a national vaccine register in Australia?
May 19th, 2016
We often get asked ” Isn’t there a national vaccine register in Australia ? ”
Sadly the answer is “For most people – no”
There are some registers for General Vaccines
ACIR : Australian Childhood Immunisation Register : NATIONAL database
Immunisations given to children between birth and 7 years of age are entered into this Medicare controlled database. ACIR began in January 1996.
VIVAS: Vaccination Information and Vaccination Administration System : QLD DATABASE
This holds immunisation data for:
Children resident in Queensland aged from birth to 10 years of age
School immunisation programme
Cancer patients up to 18 years of age who require revaccination
Refugees (all ages) having arrival vaccines
Post exposure Rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin
Indigenous Adults having “one of the vaccines against Pneumonia”
Torres Strait Islanders having vaccines against Japanese Encephalitis
State-funded, time-limited programs eg whooping cough vaccination for pregnant women
More info on QLD Government Vaccine Records
There is a Q Fever Vaccine register for those having this vaccine for working with animals.
There is also a Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine register The National HPV Vaccination Program began in 2007 for females, and was extended to include males in 2013.
In Australia, individual patient medical records are recommended to be kept until the patient has reached the age of 25 years or for a minimum of seven years from the time of last contact – whichever is the longer. However, many vaccines last a lot longer than 7 years!
What all this means is that the “little yellow book” is VERY important. Lost vaccine records can mean extra expense having vaccines repeated unnecessarily.
Our clinic has vaccine records for travellers who have seen us since 1988. (It may take up to 3 working days to withdraw these from our archives, but there is no charge for this service, provided you come to see us for subsequent vaccines.) Our efficient and long-term storage of your vaccine records is another good reason to come and see us for your travel health care.
