RSV vaccination during pregnancy - Abrysvo®

• RSV is a common virus that easily spreads.

• In Australia, RSV infection is the most common cause of infant hospitalisation because it can often progress to pneumonia (infection of the lungs) or bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lungs) in very young children.

• Eligible women from 28 to 36 weeks of pregnancy will be able to access free Abrysvo® RSV vaccine through the National Immunisation Program (NIP)

• When the Abrysvo® RSV vaccine is given in pregnancy, the mother will create protective antibodies and pass these to their baby through the placenta. This helps to protect their newborn baby from birth and in its first few months of life. Immunisation in pregnancy reduces the risk of severe RSV illness in infants under 6 months of age by around 70%.

• Victoria will fund a long-acting RSV monoclonal antibody, nirsevimab (Beyfortus™) for newborns and infants whose mothers did not receive Abrysvo® RSV vaccine. Nirsevimab for infants will be available between 1 April 2025 to 30 September 2025.

Current COVID-19 vaccine recommendations

• 75 years and older: Recommended every 6 months.

• 65-74 years: Recommended every 12 months

• 18-64 years:

◦ Without severe immunocompromise: Can receive every 12 months.

◦ With severe immunocompromise: Recommended every 12 months

• 5-17 years

◦ Without severe immunocompromise: Not recommended.

◦ With severe immunocompromise: Can receive every 12 months.

• Under 5 years: Not recommended.

New Shingles Vaccine from November 2023

From November 2023, the shingles vaccine Shingrix® will be available on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) schedule for the prevention of shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia.

A 2-dose course of Shingrix® (usual cost $560) will be available for free for:

  • People aged 65 years and older

  • First Nations people aged 50 years and older

  • Immunocompromised people aged 18 years and older with the following medical conditions:

    • haemopoietic stem cell transplant

    • solid organ transplant

    • haematological malignancy

    • advanced or untreated HIV.

Register Main Road Medical as your regular clinic in MyMedicare

MyMedicare is a new voluntary patient registration system.

It aims to strengthen the relationship between patients and general practice. MyMedicare patients will have access to longer funded telehealth consultations with your GP and other benefits which will be clarified in the future.

You’re eligible to register Main Road Medical as your regular clinic if you have:

  • A Medicare card or DVA Card

  • Two face-to-face visits at Main Road Medical in the previous 24 months.

  • People experiencing domestic violence and homelessness will be exempt from eligibility requirement.

  • Parents/guardians and children can be registered at the same practice if one of them is eligible and registered.

  • Young people aged 14 to 17 years can register and provide consent without a parent/guardian.

To register with MyMedicare please follow the below steps

  • Install the Express Plus Medicare Mobile app on you smart phone

  • Select Main Road Medical as your regular practice (please note our practice name includes no “Centre”)

  • Select your preferred GP

  • Submit your registration

Meningococcal B vaccine

• Invasive Meningococcal Disease is a rare but very serious disease that can cause significant illness, disability and death (in 5 to 10% of cases).

• The Meningococcal ACWY vaccine has been included on the National Immunisation Program for children aged 12 months of age since July 2018.

• MenB has become the most common strain over the past 3 years. However Meningococcal serogroup B vaccine is currently not included in the National Immunisation Program schedule (except in South Australia).

WHO SHOULD BE VACCINATED AGAINST MENINGOCOCCAL B

• Infants, children and adolescents

• Young adults who are smokers or live in ‘close quarters’ including new military recruits and students in residential accommodation.

• Free under National Immunisation Program for people of all ages with asplenia and hyposplenia, complement deficiency and those receiving treatment with eculizumab.

Whooping cough vaccine for pregnant women

Whooping cough is extremely contagious. It is particularly serious in babies under six months of age, who are at risk of severe complications.

Vaccination during pregnancy (between 20 and 32 weeks gestation) reduces the risk of whooping cough in young infants by 90%

Pregnant women are offered free pertussis-containing vaccine (funded under the National Immunisation Program). 

However, the Victorian Government funded pertussis vaccination program for partners of pregnant women and guardians of infants under 6 months of age (if they had not received a pertussis vaccine in the past 10 years) will cease on 30 June 2023. They are still strongly recommended to have a pertussis booster.

Shingles vaccine

  • Talk to your Doctor about shingles vaccines

  • About 1 in 3 people will develop shingles in their lifetime, regardless of how healthy they may feel.

  • Anyone who has had chickenpox can develop shingles, especially people over 50, those with a weakened immune system, and those who had chickenpox in their first year of life.

  • Nearly all adults 50 years and older already carry the inactive virus that causes shingles.

  • The likelihood of painful complications from shingles increases with age.

24-hour blood pressure monitor

24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring - the gold standard method to assess blood pressure - is now available at Main Road Medical.

Please make an appointment with your doctor to discuss about this investigation.

To be eligible for Medicare rebates, the patient must have not commenced anti‑hypertensive therapy and must meet one of the following criteria

  • Clinic systolic blood pressure >= 140 mmHg and <= 180 mmHg

  • Clinic diastolic blood pressure >= 90 mmHg and <= 110 mmHg

To do this test, you will need to wear a blood pressure unit. The unit consists of a blood pressure cuff that is worn on your upper arm and connected to a monitor. You wear the monitor on a strap over your shoulder.

For the next 24 hours, your heart rate and blood pressure will be measured at 20-30 minute intervals during the day and night. When you feel the cuff getting tighter, it’s important to stop and rest until the measurement is complete. Usually each reading takes 30-40 seconds.

It will take about 15 minutes to have the cuff put on and get instructions in the clinic. You will need to return to the clinic at the same time the next day (24 hours later) to have the strap and monitor taken off.

While you are wearing the monitoring unit you must:

  • Wear a loose-fitting shirt

  • Remain still during the readings (when the cuff tightens)

  • Record the time, any symptoms, and your mood, activity, and bedtime in your patient diary

  • Make sure the monitor stays connected while you undress

  • Take your normal medications.

You must also follow these important guidelines:

  • Don’t wear long-sleeved sweaters or dresses

  • Don’t take the cuff off or remove the batteries from the unit

  • Don’t get the monitor wet (i.e., don’t swim, shower or bathe)

  • Don’t drive or operate machinery or use power tools or heavy equipment, as vibrations can disrupt the monitor.

Winter booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine expanded eligibility

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has recommended that more people from 16 to 64 years old be given a fourth ‘winter’ dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

  • Cancer

  • Chronic inflammatory conditions: Systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, …

  • Chronic lung disease: including severe asthma (requiring frequent hospital visits or the use of multiple medications).

  • Chronic liver disease

  • Severe chronic kidney disease (stage 4 or 5)

  • Chronic neurological disease: stroke, dementia, epilepsy, …

  • Diabetes mellitus requiring medication

  • Chronic cardiac disease

  • People with disability with significant or complex health needs

  • Severe obesity with BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2

  • Severe underweight with BMI < 16.5 kg/m2

Flu vaccine 2022 is now available

Annual influenza vaccination is free under the National Immunisation Program for

  • Children from 6 months to less than 5 years of age

  • Adults aged 65 years and over

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and over

  • Pregnant women (during any stage of pregnancy)

  • People aged 6 months and over with medical conditions which increase the risk of complications.

    • Cardiac disease

    • Chronic respiratory conditions

    • Chronic neurological conditions

    • Immunocompromising conditions

    • Diabetes and other metabolic disorders

    • Renal disease

    • Haematological disorders

    • Children aged six months to 10 years on long term aspirin therapy.

Children under nine years receiving their influenza vaccination for the first time require two doses of vaccine, spaced by a minimum of one month.

Winter booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Today ATAGI recommends an additional booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine for selected groups who are at greatest risk of severe illness from COVID-19. These groups are:

  • Adults aged 65 years and older

  • Residents of aged care or disability care facilities

  • People aged 16 years and older with severe immunocompromise (as defined in the ATAGI statement on the use of a 3rd primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine in individuals who are severely immunocompromised)

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years and older.

The additional winter booster dose can be given from 4 months after the first booster dose, or from 4 months after a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, if infection occurred since the person’s first COVID-19 booster dose.

Influenza vaccine can be co-administered with the additional booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Comirnaty (Pfizer) or Spikevax (Moderna) are the preferred vaccines for COVID-19 booster doses.

Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) can be used when an mRNA vaccine is contraindicated or a person declines vaccination with an mRNA vaccine.

Nuvaxovid (Novavax) can be used if no other COVID-19 vaccine is considered suitable for that person.


COVID-19 booster vaccination for children aged 16-17 years

Today ATAGI extends the recommendation of a booster dose to include all individuals aged 16-17 years - from 3 months after receiving their last primary dose. This includes those who were aged under 16 years when they received their last primary dose and are now aged 16 years.

Pfizer vaccine is the only brand currently registered for use as a booster dose in this age group

Adolescents aged 16-17 years who are severely immunocompromised and have received a third primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine should also receive a booster dose (4th dose) of the Pfizer vaccine from 3 months after receiving their third primary dose.

Adolescents who have recently had SARS-CoV-2 infection and are now eligible for a booster are recommended to receive their booster dose. This booster dose can be administered immediately after recovery from acute illness or can be deferred for up to 4 months.

COVID-19 booster vaccination: 3 months after the second dose

The course of the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed in recent weeks. Case numbers of COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant are rapidly increasing.

ATAGI now advises an interval of 3 months for all Australians aged 18 and older including pregnant women after their primary course of COVID-19 vaccination.

Immunocompromised individuals who have received 3 primary doses of a COVID-19 vaccine are also recommended to have a booster dose (dose 4) at 3-month interval from their primary course.

Either Comirnaty (Pfizer) or Spikevax (Moderna) are recommended for use as a booster vaccine.

AstraZeneca can be used for people who have contraindications to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Please contact us for advice and booking.