Adolescents have become an increasingly prominent target group for vaccination in Australia and other developed countries. Over the past decade, voluntary school-based vaccination programs have evolved to become the primary method of delivering adolescent vaccines funded under Australia's National Immunisation Program (NIP). These programs operate at a state and territory level and offer NIP vaccines to adolescents in specific school grades using local teams of trained vaccine providers. This paper summarises the current operation of voluntary school-based vaccination programs in Australia. Information was obtained through a literature review, semi-structured interviews with those managing and implementing school-based vaccination programs in each jurisdiction and a review of program resources. Available coverage data was obtained from each state or territory. Vaccines are delivered at the school, during school hours, and typically target late primary or early secondary school grades. Written parental consent is required for any vaccine to be administered. Operation of the programs is influenced by various factors at the school and provider level. Despite variability in program implementation, collection and analysis of coverage data, comparable coverage has been achieved across all states and territories. Coverage is higher than that reported by other countries where adolescent vaccines are mandated for school entry or available only through community vaccination providers. Voluntary school-based vaccination programs are an established mechanism for the delivery of adolescent vaccines in Australia and vaccines offered will continue to evolve in light of national recommendations. Current gaps in evidence include a detailed understanding of the influence of procedural factors on uptake, the best ways to maximise consent form return and, standardisation of coverage data reporting.
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Vaccines (Basel)
January 2025
South Eastern Sydney Public Health Unit, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia.
School-based immunization programs are crucial for equitable vaccine coverage, yet their success depends on parental consent processes. This study investigates patterns of vaccine decision-making within Australia's school-based immunization program, specifically focusing on human papillomavirus (HPV) and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa) vaccines offered free to adolescents aged 12-13. This qualitative study was conducted in the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (2022-2023).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHum Vaccin Immunother
December 2025
Department of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, UK.
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered public perceptions of vaccines, particularly among parents. In high-income countries like the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia, factors such as misinformation, the expedited approval process of COVID-19 vaccines and unique local challenges have contributed to vaccine hesitancy, resulting in uneven uptake across various vaccination programs. Despite efforts like school-based influenza vaccination programs in the UK and free influenza vaccines in Australia, vaccination rates continue to decline.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Infect Dis
January 2025
Center for Cervical Cancer Elimination, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Background: Most countries in the world have launched human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programmes and declining prevalences of HPV are reported. We aimed to disentangle the influences of calendar time, birth cohort and age by analysing HPV prevalences in the population-based cervical screening programme using age-period-cohort modelling.
Methods: All 836,314 primary HPV-based cervical screening tests from women aged 23-64 between 2014-2023 in the capital region of Sweden were identified in the Swedish National Cervical Screening Registry.
BMJ Open
January 2025
Pharmaceutics and Social Pharmacy, Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Objective: This study analysed the spatial and temporal patterns of cervical cancer incidence in Addis Ababa from 2012 to 2021.
Design: An ecological study was conducted from 1 September to 30 November 2023 to examine the spatiotemporal trends of cervical cancer incidence.
Setting: The research was conducted in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia.
Public Health Pract (Oxf)
June 2025
Departments of Family Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Michigan, Michigan, USA.
Objectives: To systematically identify, appraise, and summarise published evidence on individual socioeconomic and health-related factors associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination initiation and completion among females of paediatric age.
Study Design: A global systematic review with meta-analysis (PROSPERO: CRD42023445721).
Methods: We performed a literature search in December 2022 and supplemented the search on August 1, 2023.
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