AusVaxSafety

Kristine Macartney, Nick Wood, Gulam Khandaker, Alexis Pillsbury, Dr Christopher Blyth, Dr Tom Snelling, Associate Professor Peter Jacoby, Associate Professor Peter Richmond, Annette Regan, Alan Leeb, Paul Effler, David Durrheim, Patrick Cashman, Craig Dalton, Brendan McMullan, Nigel Crawford, Jim Buttery, Peter Eizenberg, Michael Crampton, Susan Vlack, Kari Jarvinen, Michael Gold, Gabriella Lincoln and Rosalind Webby.

Project blurb: AusVaxSafety is the national system for monitoring adverse events following vaccination in Australia. Established in 2014 by NCIRS, AusVaxSafety primarily draws upon three data sources across Australia: SmartVax, Vaxtracker, and STARSS. Developed in WA, SmartVax is a SMS tool for detecting adverse events following immunisation (AEFI), and is now used Australia wide. The responses to the SmartVax SMS communications are notified to the GP who administered the vaccination and state authorities (i.e CDCD). Weekly reports are sent to CDCD containing all SmartVax data for the previous week. If a patient reports seeking medical attention for their adverse reaction, their data is sent to CDCD daily- significant medically attended events are then followed up by CDCD/CIC.

Plain language summary: From the medically attended notifications, children who received a DTP booster at 18 months or four years of age, as well as children under 5 years of age who received an influenza vaccination are flagged by CDCD for reporting to AusVaxSafety.  In November 2016, AusVaxSafety began monitoring the safety of the National Shingles Vaccination Program, as well as influenza vaccine given to any age group. From 2017, this will expand to include all vaccines given to people of any age. AusVaxSafety also receives data from Vaxtracker. Based in NSW, Vaxtracker operates in a similar manner to SmartVax, however includes email communication, as well as SMS. Vaxtracker collects data from GP practices in NSW, VIC, QLD, and NT.

The third tool reporting to AusVaxSafety is the SA based STARSS study. The STARSS study is evaluating methods of AEFI surveillance, sending two out of three participants a SMS following immunisation. Participants who report seeking medical attention for an AEFI are followed up either by a phone call from a nurse, or are asked to complete an online survey over the phone.

From 2017 onwards AusVaxSafety will begin to receive data from the national Adverse Events Following Immunisation Clinical Assessment Network (AEFI-CAN) and MedicineInsight.

Data compiled by AusVaxSafety are summarised in reports for the Australian Government Department of Health Immunisation Branch and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and shared with participating state and territory health departments.

www.ncirs.edu.au/surveillance/ausvaxsafety/index.php

Funders of the project: Commonwealth Department of Health, WA Department of Health

External collaborators: National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS), NSW