Health and Immunisation Management Services

23/04/2026

Influenza vaccination is now available for South Australians, with more free options available for children under 5 years.

Influenza is not just a common cold. It is a highly infectious disease that can lead to serious illness, hospitalisation and may require emergency care.

Last year in South Australia emergency departments saw high demand from people in severe respiratory distress, with 3,692 people admitted to hospital due to influenza complications. Hundreds of young children were also admitted to hospital, including 305 children aged 2 to 4 years.

With flu season approaching, helping reduce preventable hospital visits is important for everyone.

Act early to protect yourself, your family, and those you care for.

Visit sahealth.sa.gov.au/influenza for eligibility details.

23/04/2026

South Australia Health issues warning after Adelaide chef Chris Jarmer’s nephew dies from meningococcal B in Europe.

Alexander “Zander” Philogenes, 21, was on a university exchange trip in Austria’s capital Vienna while in his fourth year of a chemical engineering and finance double degree.

Philogenes had contracted an aggressive strain of meningococcal B currently circulating widely across Europe.

He died within four hours of developing symptoms, including a headache and a rash.

Jarmer described his nephew as gifted, athletic and deeply loved.

Zander’s parents and siblings have travelled to Vienna for his funeral, while a memorial service will be held in Perth next month for extended family and friends.

A passionate Crows supporter, he will be honoured with a personalised guernsey.

“I’ll be getting him a Guernsey with the number 21 and his name on the back that my sister can hang in his room,” Jarmer said.

SA Health is urging travellers to be aware of meningococcal symptoms and to ensure vaccinations are up to date before heading overseas.

Experts say meningococcal B is aggressive and when symptoms present, every second counts.

“That’s why we really encourage people to get vaccinated against meningococcal,” SA Health’s Noel Lally said.

“When you’re travelling, any vaccinations at all, make sure you talk to your GP and make sure you’re fully covered for everything you can be,” expert Karen Quick said.

05/04/2026

If you’re planning an Easter holiday to Bali, Vietnam, or Thailand, it’s a good time to check if you and your family are vaccinated against measles.

These are among destinations in Southeast Asia with ongoing measles outbreaks, and Australian health authorities are concerned.

Several Australian jurisdictions have reported ongoing measles cases linked to overseas travel, particularly in Southeast Asia.

With travel increasing during holiday periods, so does the risk of bringing this highly infectious disease into Australia and triggering an outbreak.

Because measles spreads so easily, about 95% of the population needs to be immune to prevent ongoing community transmission. This is a known as “herd immunity”.

This means that people who cannot be vaccinated – including very young babies, individuals receiving chemotherapy and others with underlying immune disorders – can be protected, if 95% of the population has been immunised.

According to national data from 2024, about 94.7% of Australian children receive their first measles vaccine dose at 12 months of age. Coverage fell to around 89.5% for children receiving a second on-time dose, at 18 months.

This is what’s driving the current Australian outbreaks.

Measles control is a global problem that requires local vigilance. As international travel increases, ensuring vaccinations are up to date remains one of the most reliable ways to protect individuals, communities and those who are most vulnerable.

More here: https://theconversation.com/heading-to-bali-vietnam-or-thailand-why-a-measles-vaccine-is-more-important-than-ever-278310?utm_medium=article_clipboard_share&utm_source=theconversation.com

02/04/2026

The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) has a**lysed 2025 vaccination coverage and found the proportion of one-year-olds up to date with vaccinations was at its lowest point in 12 years.

STORY: https://ab.co/4s5NS0i

Overall, childhood vaccination coverage at the one, two and five-year milestones declined for the fifth year in a row.

"Across the board, every age group, we're continuing to see that vaccine coverage is falling and it's been falling year-on-year now since 2020," NCIRS director Kristine Macartney said.

Professor Macartney said the post-COVID-19 data for vaccination rates of two-year-olds was particularly alarming.

"We're seeing for the first time now that coverage has dropped below 90%. One out of every 10 two-year-olds isn't up to date with these life-saving vaccines," she said.

"In 2025, there were 80,000 children in Australia who were not up to date with their vaccines … opening up a chance that they could have one of these terrible diseases that's otherwise completely preventable."

If coverage continued to decline on this trajectory, "we will absolutely see more deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases", she said.

"Very sadly, for the first time in around a decade, we saw two young babies die from whooping cough in the last two years."

Fewer teenagers were also getting the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which can prevent cervical, oral, a**l and other ge***al cancers, according to the data.

Less than 80% of adolescents are up to date with the HPV vaccine. The target is 90%.

Professor Macartney said adolescent HPV vaccination coverage has dropped to 78.7% in girls and 75.6% in boys — down 7.9% and 9.3%, respectively, since 2020.

She said that was a "startling" development.

"We were on track to become one of the first countries to eliminate cervical cancer, as well as I'd say many of the other cancers from this virus. But we will not get there unless we push protection back up," Professor Macartney said.

📝 National health equity reporters Caitlyn Gribbin and Rachel Carbonell

01/04/2026

The latest immunisation data shows more than 80,000 Australian children aged five and under are not fully up to date with their vaccinations.

01/04/2026

Year 7 and 10 students can get free immunisations at school to protect against life threatening diseases. Here’s what your child can expect on immunisation day:

• Students should eat breakfast, wear short sleeve shirts, and bring a water bottle to school.
• A trained immunisation provider will give the immunisations.
• The immunisation provider will check that a consent form has been signed, ask students if they are feeling well, and if they have any allergies.
• Students will then wait for 10-15 minutes afterward to make sure they feel well.

Once immunised, your child will be protected against life threatening illnesses.

To learn more, visit sahealth.sa.gov.au/SIP

24/03/2026

Meningitis is a medical emergency. It can develop in a number of hours. It’s important to know the warning signs and to get medical treatment

17/03/2026

13/03/2026

Here’s what you need to know about influenza and flu shots for kids this coming Autumn/Winter season.

As the cooler months approach, so does flu season. And for families with little ones, it’s a good time to start thinking about protection.

In , children under five are more likely to get seriously unwell from . It’s not just a bad cold. Some kids can end up in hospital, and many miss weeks of childcare or preschool.

That’s why flu are recommended every year for children aged six months and up. They’re free for kids under five, and they’re updated each year to match the latest strains.

The best time to get the flu shot? April or May. Just before the season peaks.

Stay tuned this week as we answer common questions from parents about flu vaccines.

11/03/2026

01/03/2026

⛷️A skiing holiday in Japan took a tragic and terrifying turn for 24-year old Australian Anna Gallo last month when she fell acutely ill with and .
😰On February 5 Anna and her boyfriend Liam were due to fly home to Queensland, but Anna became unwell - shivering and vomiting uncontrollably - with what they thought was food poisoning.
🛫Just hours before take-off, Liam saw a rash of red spots was blooming all over Anna's body.
🚑Liam's decision to call an ambulance at that moment saved Anna's life.
She had become delirious and now has no memory of the ambulance trip or the days that followed.
👩‍⚕️Doctors at Tokyo's National Center for Global Health and Medicine diagnosed Anna with meningococcal B, which had rapidly escalated into meningitis and septic shock.
🛏️She fell into a three-day coma, her life supported by machines and intravenous antibiotics.
💉Anna was a victim of the "vaccine gap" - having no vaccine protection against the type of Meningococcal most common in Australia, Meningococcal B.
"I was vaccinated for meningococcal ACW Y in school, but not for type B, which is the kind I got," Anna says.
‼️Over 80% of cases of meningococcal in Australia are Meningococcal B.

Anna's experience shows how critical it is to close that vaccine gap across ALL Australian states and territories by making the vaccination FREE in all states not just some of them.

Read the full story here: https://ow.ly/fptu50YlJGs