1-3 The Terrace
P.O Box 5013
Wellington
Date:
April 2014
Pages: 1 of 2
To:
General Practitioners, Practice Nurses, Practice Managers, Health Professionals
From:
Rayoni Keith, Manager, Immunisation
Subject:
Reaching all children, Immunisation Handbook 2014, BCG vaccine shortage,
recording influenza vaccine on the NIR update, measles update, Immunisation
Schedule change, RotaTeq® catch-up, Newborn enrolment
Reaching all children
We are on track towards immunising 95% of all 8 month old children by December 2014 and it wouldn’t
have happened without your support, so thank you. However, latest figures show that nationwide, we
remain steady on 91%, with no change since September. Now is the time to review how you precall and
recall your children for their immunisations so they receive their immunisations on time. In real
numbers, the shortfall is small with about 1200 children vulnerable to vaccine preventable diseases.
Please ensure every effort is made towards getting those extra children immunised on time. Your
Immunisation Coordinator may be able to assist with putting in place the 4 point action plan.
Immunisation Handbook 2014
The new edition of the Immunisation Handbook will be published in late May. The Handbook includes a
new chapter on vaccination for special groups, and will be published both in hard copy and as an ebook that can be read on tablets or e-readers. The electronic version of the Handbook will be kept up
to date, with new versions available for free download as it is revised from time to time, while the hard
copy will be updated less frequently.
BCG vaccine shortage
The BCG vaccine currently available in New Zealand expired at the end of April 2014. PHARMAC has
been advised by Sanofi there is a global shortage of BCG vaccine which is affecting the New Zealand
supply. There will be no BCG vaccine available in New Zealand until mid-June 2014.
If you still have expired BCG vaccine in stock can you please place this in quarantine in your vaccine
refrigerator until new stock is available. Once the new vaccine is available the expired stock needs to
be returned to Propharma for destruction.
If you have any questions please contact Sanofi customer service on 09 969 0736.
Recording adult influenza vaccine on the NIR – update
The NIR was set up as register for all children born from 2005 onwards, except for those who opted off.
Extending the NIR to cover adults who were born in earlier years has meant we need to adapt our
processes.
PMSs and the NIR have been modified to record the influenza vaccine information given in general
practice for the 2014 Annual Influenza Programme. Your PMS system has been updated to send flu
vaccine information to the NIR. If you have questions on this please contact your PMS supplier.
To record an adult patient’s influenza vaccine on the NIR, select the opt on button on your PMS.
Opting off adult patients from the NIR has caused problems for users of the MedTech PMS. If an adult
decides against recording their influenza event on the NIR, leave the opt-on/off fields blank. The
vaccine event information will only be recorded on your PMS and not message to the NIR. The Ministry
will continue to provide updates as a long-term solution for all PMSs is developed.
The monthly Immunisation Update which is faxed to general practices will record any NIR changes. The
Ministry of Health NIR website page will also be updated as new information becomes available. Please
send your questions to immunisation@moh.govt.nz
Measles update
From the end of December 2013 to 5 May 2014 there have been a total of 129 confirmed measles
cases reported in New Zealand. The majority of the cases have been in Auckland, and are linked to
international travel, primarily travellers returning from the Philippines.
No confirmed cases have been reported outside the Auckland region in the past eight weeks. However,
doctors in all regions should be alert for symptoms of measles, particularly given that people will have
travelled over the Easter break and school holidays.
The ‘Don’t Assume You’re Immune to Measles’ poster is available to order or download at
www.healthed.govt.nz/resource/dont-assume-youre-immune-measles. Further measles information,
advice and other resources can be found at www.health.govt.nz/measles, www.twitter.com/minhealthnz
and also on the Safetravel and Ministry of Education websites.
National Immunisation Schedule changes from 1 July
The table to the right illustrates the
new
National
Immunisation
Schedule, which is also online:
www.health.govt.nz/schedule.
®
RotaTeq catch-up for babies
born 19 March to 19 May 2014
During
babies’
six
week
immunisation visit, we recommend
booking an appointment for their
first RotaTeq® dose in July 2014.
The first dose of RotaTeq® can
ONLY be given BEFORE the baby
is 15 weeks old, and is available
only from 1 July.
Babies born 19–24 March have
less than one week to receive their
first RotaTeq® dose.
Babies born 25–31 March only
have 1–7 July to receive their first
RotaTeq® dose.
Rules for RotaTeq® catch-up
doses
First RotaTeq® dose MUST be
given before 15 weeks of age, i.e.
up to and including 14 weeks and
6 days old.
Administer two further doses of
RotaTeq® before 8 months of age.
A minimum interval of four weeks
is required between each of the
three doses.
Newborn enrolment
A new resource has been
developed for general practice, with practical suggestions to support the process of ensuring newborns
are enrolled with general practice as close to birth as possible. You can access the resource via this
link www.health.govt.nz/publication/enrolling-babies-birth. We encourage you to implement the
suggestions provided in the resource.
If you have any queries about anything in this update, please email immunisation@moh.govt.nz