Boosting childhood vaccination rates in the holidays

With only two weeks before school resumes, now is the ideal time for pharmacists to help parents catch up with vaccinations for their children.

“As a parent of a four and six-year-old child, I know January is typically the time when kids are getting ready for the school year,” said Jacqueline Meyer MPS, owner of LiveLife Pharmacy Cooroy and PSA Queensland Pharmacist of the Year 2023. “Let’s make sure that includes updating vaccinations.”

Ms Meyer said encouraging parents to take advantage of this window of time could help overcome practical difficulties such as a busy lifestyle, while the availability of an increasing number of vaccines at pharmacies was especially helpful in regional areas where it may be more difficult to see a GP.

Research by the National Vaccinations Insight Project found that 23.9% of parents with partially vaccinated children under the age of five did not prioritise their children’s vaccination appointments over other things, while 24.8% said it was not easy to get an appointment.

As well as holidays being free of the hustle and bustle of school routine, getting immunised during the holidays means children don’t have to miss a day of school if they have mild vaccination side effects, said Samantha Kourtis, pharmacist and managing partner of Capital Chemist Charnwood in the ACT and the mother of three teenagers. 

Overcoming hesitancy

Ms Meyer said it was crucial that pharmacists familiarised themselves with the laws governing vaccinations in different states and territories so they knew what part they could play in boosting immunisation.

In most states and territories pharmacists may administer vaccines to children over the age of five – in Queensland that age is two years and, in Tasmania, in some cases, 10 years.

This can be most helpful for children who have missed out on immunisations through school programs, or from a medical clinic.

Concerningly, however, new research shows vaccination coverage among children in Australia has declined for the third consecutive year.

In 2020, fully vaccinated coverage rates were 94.8% at 12 months, 92.1 at 24 months and 94.8% at five years of age. In 2023 those rates were 92.8, 90.8% and 93.3% respectively.

Between 2020 and 2023, the proportion of children vaccinated within 30 days of the recommended age also decreased for both the second dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine (from 90.1% to 83.5% for non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and 80.3% to 74.6% for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children) and the first dose of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine (from 75.3% to 67.2% for non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children children and 64.7% to 56% for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children). 

While access issues played some part in the decline, vaccine acceptance or parents’ thoughts and feelings about vaccines and parents’ social influences have also been a factor, according to the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.

Researchers found 60.2% of parents felt distressed when thinking about vaccinating their children.

Pharmacist Sonia Zhu MPS, of Ramsay Pharmacy Glen Huntly, who has a four year old child, said she often has conversations with parents who feel anxious about vaccination.

“Whenever a parent is concerned, I ask them what is making them feel worried and then I am able to talk to them about the risks of the disease as opposed to the vaccine,” she said.

“I can assure them that vaccinations are just like a practice exam for your immune system and that, if their child gets the disease, they will recover better and more quickly if they are vaccinated.”

Mrs Kourtis said it was also important to reduce vaccination anxiety among children with a friendly healthcare environment, especially for younger children.

“We have regular colouring competitions, fairy doors, fun stickers and a donut stool they sit on to have their vaccination,” she said.

“We also talk to parents about what their child needs before being vaccinated. That may be to wear headphones, for example, or other measures for children who are neurodiverse.”

While Ms Zhu said lollipops were offered to children and teens, Ms Meyer said cartoon images, stuffed toys and devices that acted as distraction tools were other accessories used in pharmacies to help create a calm environment.

The teenage challenge

Vaccine rates in adolescents have also declined. Between 2022 and 2023, coverage decreased for having at least one dose of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine by 15 years of age (from 85.3% to 84.2% for girls and 83.1% to 81.8% for boys); an adolescent dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine by 15 years of age (from 86.9% overall to 85.5%) and one dose of meningococcal ACWY vaccine by 17 years of age (from 75.9% overall to 72.8%).

“We certainly have nowhere near the uptake of meningococcal B vaccine we would like in Queensland,” said Ms Meyer.

According to the Primary Health Network Brisbane South, in the 15 to 20-year-old cohort, just under 14% have been immunised, leaving approximately 386,000 eligible adolescents unvaccinated.

The Queensland MenB Vaccination Program announced this year provides free vaccines to eligible infants, children and adolescents, and is the largest state-funded immunisation program ever implemented in the state.

With pharmacists able to administer all of these vaccinations between year 7 and year 10, Ms Meyer sees a clear opportunity to communicate the benefits of vaccination to parents.

“I think pharmacists could reach out to local schools and offer to conduct educational sessions,” said Ms Meyer. “Community pharmacies often employ teenagers for casual or junior shifts so it may start with simply talking to existing staff that may fit the eligibility criteria for demographic.”

Mrs Kourtis said community pharmacists were well placed to have health promotions in store and on social media.

“They can also try to partner with local community and sporting organisations to promote vaccination through them,” she said.