Adult immunisation



Flu vaccine


Flu vax 05 Roy Gosper & Melani
Medical student at the GMC, Malanie Tait, gives Roy Gosper his annual flu shot.


The influenza vaccine is free for all people 65 years and older and for indigenous people older than 50 years. Influenza can make older people very ill and lead to severe complications such as pneumonia and occasionally death. Elderly people who have a weak immune system can die from the complications of flu.

The flu vaccination period is from March to late May each year. We have this vaccine in stock during this period and into the winter months. Just ask your doctor at the time of your consultation for the vaccine.
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Breaking the whooping cough cycle


A new vaccine for adults is set to increase protection for infants and young children at risk from getting whooping cough.

Up to one in four babies with whooping cough have been infected by adults and teenagers who also account for more than half the reported cases of the disease. If teenagers and adults were immunised we could break the whooping cough cycle.

Indeed, most of the cases of whooping cough in the Northern Rivers this year have been in older children, teenagers and adults.

Neither the disease nor the childhood vaccine produce lifelong immunity and by the time fully vaccinated babies reach their teenage years, they will have little protection against whooping cough.

If an adult contracts whooping cough, their symptoms are often less severe, and may not even be recognised. However they can spread the disease back to babies.
Babies are not fully protected against whooping cough until after they have received their third dose of the vaccine at six months of age. Infants younger than one year have the greatest risk of serious and life threatening illness. Babies under six months are the most vulnerable and most at risk of dying.
Young adults planning a family might also consider having the new vaccine, so they don’t run the risk of getting whooping cough and infecting their small children.

The new vaccine is available for children older than 10 years and adults. It also includes protection against diphtheria and tetanus. Currently the vaccine is only available on prescription and costs around $40. ~19/10/01