Every day you come into contact with germs, including bacteria and viruses. Vaccines work to reduce your risk of getting a serious illness.

 

We offer all the childhood and adult immunisations required under the national immunisation program as well as other important vaccines such as Meningitis B.  

 

We have a rigorous process to ensure important vaccines are not missed and that the process as quick and painless as possible.  

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When your body comes into contact with a germ, it responds by creating special cells called antibodies to fight and kill the germ.  This is called your immune system.  A healthy immune system stops you getting sick from these germs. 

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One of the special things about your immune system is that it can remember many dangerous germs.  That means the next time you come into contact with the illness, your body can respond quickly to fight it.

 

Vaccines are a generally safe way of helping your body to produce an immune response without you having to get the illness.

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Vaccines use a dead or weakened germ to trick your body into thinking you have got a disease.  When you get vaccinated, your immune system responds to these weakened germs and creates antibodies to protect you. Just like when you get other germs in your daily life, your immune system then remembers how to fight and kill the disease if you come into contact with it again.

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Vaccines are a great way to strengthen your immune system against some well-known germs that can cause serious illness and in some cases death.  

 

When you get the germ in the future, your immune system is ready and can rapidly produce antibodies to destroy it. In some cases, you may still get a less serious form of the illness, but you are protected from the most dangerous effects.
 

What diseases can I get protected from through vaccination?

• COVID-19

• Chickenpox (Varicella)

• Diphtheria

• Flu (Influenza)

• Hepatitis A

• Hepatitis B

• Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b)

• HPV (Human Papillomavirus)

• Measles

• Meningococcal (Types ACWY and B)

• Mumps

• Pneumococcal

• Polio (Poliomyelitis)

• Rotavirus

• Rubella (German Measles)

• Shingles (Herpes Zoster)

• Tetanus (Lockjaw)

• Whooping Cough (Pertussis )

 

How do I get a vaccination?

To find out more about vaccinations and to check whether you are fully protected, contact your local rural GP.

 

Depending on what vaccinations you got as a child, your doctor can tell you whether additional vaccinations would be good for you.

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We recommend that most people in rural and remote communities get at least the flu vaccine every year to protect against this disease particularly people with existing chronic illnesses, the elderly, children, pregnant women and those planning on becoming pregnant and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

 

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