NIP Weekly Update - 16 December 2022

Kia ora koutou colleagues,

Please share the information below with your contacts and networks as relevant. Thank you so much for your help and amazing mahi.

Snapshot of this week’s update:

• An update on the Aotearoa Immunisation Register
• Release of latest Tier 1 Statistics and HPV Data
• Changes to ‘Adverse Events Following Immunisations’ webform coming up 
• Updated Immunisation Handbook
• Updated collateral in Dropbox
• Our regular reminders

An update on the Aotearoa Immunisation Register

You will already know from our earlier updates that the Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR) will eventually replace the current National Immunisation Register (NIR) and supersede the COVID-19 Immunisation Register (CIR). 

The AIR vaccinator portal is now live and the team have commenced signing up Pharmacy users to the AIR as a replacement for ImmuniseNow from December 2022. The AIR system has a new role called a ‘facility manager’. The facility manager role will give a Pharmacy (or a group of Pharmacies) the flexibility to manage their own AIR users. When a facility manager for a Pharmacy is signed up, we will then work with the facility manager to support their users to complete the sign-up process. Pharmacy facility managers can commence their sign up now by contacting air.engagement@health.govt.nz. 

Other providers in the Immunisation sector will be invited to adopt the AIR vaccinator portal in a staged approach in late January to February before the commencement of 2023 flu campaign. For providers that use an integrated PMS systems that connects to NIR, there is no requirement for you to use the AIR vaccinator portal. We are working with your software vendor to connect your system to AIR. (Most GPs will fit into this category) 

For those that currently do not use a system (electronic) that can submit information to the NIR, the AIR vaccinator portal will be available for you to adopt in early Q1 2023 commencing with providers who will participate in the 2023 flu campaign. (Occupational Health, Community providers, Public Health Units)

From 9 November, General Practices are scheduled to start receiving notifications when any of their enrolled patients have received vaccinations elsewhere that have been recorded in AIR. Vaccinations recorded in AIR will not be viewable on the NIR.  We continue to work with medical software vendors to support the shift required to connect PMS with the AIR as this work progresses over 2023.  

You can find more information on AIR here. 

Release of latest Tier 1 Statistics and HPV Data

Yesterday the following data was published on the Ministry of Health website:

• Childhood Immunisation Tier 1 Data for the most recent quarter (Q1, 1 July 2022 – 30 September 2022) and the last 12 months (1 October 2021 – 30 September 2022).
  National and DHB immunisation data | Ministry of Health NZ
  
• HPV Immunisation coverage to 30 September 2022 for the 2008 birth cohort.
  HPV immunisation programme | Ministry of Health NZ

Changes to ‘Adverse Events Following Immunisations’ webform coming up 

We’re updating the webform used to record adverse events following immunisation (AEFIs) for the COVID-19 vaccine. We have been working with the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM) to improve how New Zealand’s health system captures, records, assesses and reports on adverse effects from any medicines or vaccines. This means we’ve reviewed the systems we use, so we can continue to deliver high-quality medicine safety monitoring capability right across the health and disability sector.  

We’re making some changes to the webform used to record AEFIs. Later this month, we’re upgrading the look and feel of the webform we use to log Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFIs), to make it easier to lodge these in future. Right now, the webform used to log AEFIs relating to the COVID-19 vaccine is quite heavily tailored to that specific vaccine, and we’re changing it to be consistent with how all adverse reactions to medicines will be notified in the future. You might notice some of the drop-down fields have different information, but you’ll still use the form in largely the same way as before.  

• When will the changes happen? From Thursday 15 December, the webform you use to log any AEFI relating to the COVID-19 vaccine will look slightly different. 
• Who does this affect? Anyone who lodges AEFIs via the webform will notice the difference. Anyone who normally uses the CIR system to log AEFIs will be redirected to the new webform. 
• Who can tell me more? Please direct any queries to CARMreport@health.govt.nz 

Updated Immunisation Handbook

The Immunisation Handbook has been updated and this is available as version 20a on the Ministry of Health website here: https://www.health.govt.nz/publication/immunisation-handbook-2020 

The changes in this version include:

• Covid19: mention of mRNA-CV (3µg)
• Updates to HPV, Meningococcal and Pneumococcal chapters
• Updated links to IMACs new website

Updated collateral in Dropbox

Updated booster eligibility criteria collateral for Māori and Pacific translations is now available in our Dropbox. You will find posters, flyers and social tiles for downloading here: Dropbox:  Five reasons to get your COVID-19 booster.

Regular reminders

Weekly vaccination data

A new weekly, online Trends and Insights report has replaced our previous, downloadable Whānau Māori and Pacific Peoples Data summaries. Our Māori and Pacific data can be found here: COVID-19 Trends and Insights, COVID-19: Current Cases, COVID-19 Case Demographics and COVID-19 Vaccine Data.

Collateral on Dropbox

Don’t forget all our immunisation collateral is available on Dropbox for health care providers to use when promoting vaccinations. Please feel free to share this link and the collateral widely with your other healthcare colleagues: Dropbox: NIP – vaccine resources – Simplify your life.

Consent forms (English and Te Reo Māori) and policy statements for use by health professionals can also be found in this Dropbox.

You can also find a range of vaccination stories to share on our YouTube channel. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ngā mihi nui,

Sandy

Sandy Thambiah

Senior Adviser, Engagement

National Immunisation Programme

waea pūkoro: +64 21 248 1288| īmēra: sandy.thambiah@health.govt.nz

133 Molesworth Street, Te Whanganui-a-Tara

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