Next week is World Immunisation Week and this is a great reminder for everyone to ensure our family’s vaccinations are up-to-date.
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Vaccines work!
Did you know that that immunisation prevents between two million and three million deaths each year around the world, and that, we all have a part to play in keeping our community healthy by ensuring vaccination rates are as high as possible?
We are so lucky to be living at a time when we are able to contain vaccine-preventable diseases in NSW. They have contained diseases that were once common (and often very debilitating or even fatal), like diphtheria, polio, tetanus, measles, whooping cough, mumps, smallpox and rubella.
Further, there is an ongoing need for high-risk groups - including pregnant women, people over 65 and people with chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma - to take advantage of free influenza vaccinations.
The most up-to-date influenza vaccine, which protects against four circulating strains of the illness, is available from GPs under the National Immunisation Program.
Immediately after World Immunisation Week, NSW will start a school-based vaccination program for meningococcal disease, targeting Year 11 and 12 students in secondary schools. The vaccine will provide protection against meningococcal serogroups A, C, Y and W.
This year’s World Immunisation Week will also see targeted campaign activities in low immunisation coverage areas on the North Coast, in consultation with Northern NSW Local Health District.
Accessing training for Working With Children
The NSW Government has launched a free online tool to help staff and volunteers in all child-related organisations build their child-safe capacity.
The eight modules contained in the resource will assist organisations identify grooming practices and develop policies and guidelines for workers.
This means quality training is available at the click of a button to all child-related organisations.
For further information on the Child Safe Organisations eLearning program, please visit www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/child-safe-elearning
This program forms part of the Child Safe Strategy for NSW and will complement the draft Child Safe Principles which have now been released for public consultation.