Pneumococcal Vaccination Program

April 27, 2007 – 3:11 pm | posted in Immune System, Pediatrics

A report released today has shown pneumococcal disease in Australian children aged under two years has dropped significantly due to the Childhood Pneumococcal Vaccination Program.

The report, Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Australia 2005 was published in the Communicable Diseases Intelligence first quarter 2007 edition. It concluded that the first year of operation of the Childhood Pneumococcal Vaccination Program led to a 75 per cent reduction in the disease in children aged under two years and an overall 30 per cent decrease in the number of cases of this disease in Australia.

The report also showed a 52 per cent reduction in pneumococcal disease cases in children aged 2-14 years and a 30 per cent reduction in people aged 65 years and over.

The Howard Government introduced free pneumococcal vaccinations on 1 January 2005 for all Australian newborns and all children born since 1 January 2003. At the same time, the Government also introduced free pneumococcal vaccinations for all Australians aged 65 years and over.

Around two million young and older Australians have received free pneumococcal vaccinations under this program.

By the end of 2005, 91.1 per cent of Australian children were fully vaccinated with three doses of pneumococcal vaccine. Before the introduction of the free vaccination program, only 50 per cent of Australian children had been fully vaccinated against this disease.

In 1996, the Government spent just $13 million on all Australian vaccination programs. This financial year, the Howard Government has spent $283 million on vaccination - a 22-fold increase.

The Communicable Diseases Intelligence is a publication of the Communicable Diseases Network Australia and is published by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. It is available online at: http://www.health.gov.au/cdi

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