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Changes to the NSW School Vaccination Program

There have been significant changes to the NSW School Vaccination Program over time relating to the introduction or cessation of vaccines, changes in the recommended sex and ages for vaccination and policy changes to extend the opportunity to provide catch-up vaccination.

These include:

  • The data for HPV vaccination for 2011 to 2012 relates to female students in Year 7 only as the program was expanded to include males from 2013.
  • In 2017 NSW adopted a 2-dose HPV schedule based on the latest international evidence that two doses given to individuals aged 9-14 years (i.e. Year 7 students) at least 6 months apart gives equivalent protection to a 3-dose schedule.
  • From 2012, extended catch-up vaccination has been offered to students who commenced the course of HPV vaccine in Year 7 to support course completion. HPV vaccination coverage from 2012 to 2015 for dose 2 and 3 includes catch-up vaccination for students who commenced the course in Year 7 and were provided with catch-up doses in Year 8 in 2013 (to the end of Term 2) and 2014-2018 (to the end of Term 4) respectively. 2019 is the last year final data are available as it includes catch-up vaccination offered in Year 8 in 2010.
  • School disruptions associated with the covid-19 pandemic from 2020-2022 impacted on opportunities to offer catch up and extended catch-up vaccination during 2020 and 2021 for the Year 7 and Year 10 cohort from 2019, 2020 and 2021. Complete updated data includes catch up for dTpa, and HPV vaccines for Year 7 students and MenACWY vaccines Year 10 students in 2020 and 2021. Catch up for these vaccines was offered during 2021 and 2022. The 2022 cohort data are currently incomplete and will be updated when catch-up vaccinations have been completed.
  • In 2017 NSW implemented an emergency meningococcal ACWY vaccination (MenACWY) program targeting Year 11 and 12 students in response to the emergence of meningococcal serogroup W, which is a significant cause of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in Australia. In 2018 the program was offered to Year 10 and 11 students and has been offered routinely to Year 10 students since 2019.
  • dTpa vaccine is offered to all students in Year 7 to provide protection against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough). dTpa vaccine was previously offered to Year 10 students but was transitioned to Year 7 over a three-year period from 2010-2012 as part of a national strategy to provide adolescents with earlier protection against pertussis.
  • Varicella vaccine was offered between 2006 and 2017 as a catch-up for adolescents who did not have a history of chickenpox or vaccination. The decline in coverage for varicella vaccination in 2014 is associated with vaccine supply issues in that year. The Australian Government ceased the varicella catch-up program at the end of 2017, as children were vaccinated at 18 months of age from November 2005 onwards.
  • Hepatitis B vaccine was offered between 2004 and 2013 as a catch-up for adolescents who had not had a primary course of hepatitis B vaccine. The Australian Government ceased the hepatitis B vaccination catch-up program at the end of 2013; as hepatitis B vaccine had been offered to babies at birth, two, four and six months of age from May 2000 onwards.