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SAEFVIC: Surveillance of Adverse Events Following Vaccination In the Community

Pre-immunisation checklist: What to tell your doctor or nurse before immunisation

Page contents: Comparison of effects of vaccines and diseases | Download documents

Before any immunisation takes place, the doctor or nurse must ask you if:

You have read this information
You understand this information
You need more information to decide whether or not to proceed

For all vaccines
The conditions listed below do not necessarily mean that immunisation cannot be given but a different vaccine schedule may be recommended. Before the immunisation, tell the doctor or nurse if any of the following apply to the person to be immunised:
	Is unwell on the day of immunisation (temperature 38.5°C or higher)
	Has had a severe reaction to any vaccine
	Has had a severe allergy to anything
	Preterm baby born less than 32 weeks gestation
	Has a chronic illness
	Has had a vaccine containing live viruses within the last month (such as MMR, chickenpox, BCG)
	Is taking steroids of any sort other than inhaled asthma sprays or steroid creams (for example, cortisone or prednisone)
	Has had immunoglobulin or a blood transfusion in the last three months, or intravenous immunoglobulin in the last nine months
	Has a disease or is having treatment which causes low immunity (for example, leukaemia, cancer, HIV/AIDS, radiotherapy or chemotherapy)
	Lives with someone who has a disease or is having treatment which causes low immunity (for example, leukaemia, cancer, HIV/AIDS, radiotherapy or chemotherapy).
	Has a past history of Guillain-Barré syndrome
	Is pregnant or is planning to become pregnant within one month of immunisation (the person to be vaccinated)
	Is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island descent (relates to the adult influenza and pneumococcal vaccine program)

Comparison of effects of vaccines and diseases

Disease	Effects of disease	Side effects of vaccination
Diphtheria – contagious bacteria spread by droplets; causes severe throat and breathing difficulties.	About 1 in 15 patients dies. The bacteria release a toxin, which can produce nerve paralysis and heart failure.	DTPa vaccine – about 1 in 10 have local inflammation or fever. Serious adverse events are very rare, and much less common than with DTPw.
Hepatitis B – virus spread mainly by blood, sexual contact or from mother to newborn baby; causes acute hepatitis or chronic carriage.	About 1 in 4 chronic carriers will develop cirrhosis or liver cancer.	About 1 in 15 to 1 in 100 will have pain and fever.
Hib – contagious bacteria spread by droplets; causes meningitis, epiglottitis (respiratory obstruction), septicaemia, osteomyelitis.	About 1 in 20 meningitis patients dies and 1 in 4 survivors has permanent brain or nerve damage. About 1 in 100 epiglottitis patients dies.	About 1 in 20 has discomfort or local inflammation. About 1 in 50 has fever.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) – virus spread mainly via sexual contact.	About 1 in 2 cervical cancers worldwide have been associated with HPV16 and 1 in 10 with HPV18.	About 1 in 10 will have pain and swelling at the site of injection and very occasionally headache, fever and nausea.
Influenza – contagious virus spread by droplets; causes fever, muscle and joint pains, pneumonia.	< and diabetics elderly, the include groups High-risk elderly. in hospitalisation increased>	< 1 about occurs syndrome Guillain-Barré reactions. local have 10>
Measles – highly infectious virus spread by droplets; causes fever, cough, rash.	1 in 25 children with measles develops pneumonia and 1 in 2,000 develops encephalitis (brain inflammation). For every 10 children who develop measles encephalitis, 1 dies and 4 have permanent brain damage. About 1 in 25,000 develops SSPE (brain degeneration), which is always fatal.	About 1 in 10 have discomfort, local inflammation or fever. About 1 in 100 develops a rash, which is non-infectious. 1 in 1 million recipients may develop encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
Meningococcal infections – bacteria spread by respiratory droplets. Causes sepsis (infection of the blood stream) and meningitis (infection of the tissues surrounding the brain).	About 1 in 10 patients die. Of those that survive, 1 in 30 have severe skin scarring or loss of limbs, and 1 in 30 has severe brain damage.	Polysaccharide vaccine: Local reactions common. Mild fever, headache, malaise in 1 in 30. Conjugate vaccine: About 1 in 10 has local inflammation, fever, irritability, anorexia or headaches.
Mumps – contagious virus spread by saliva; causes swollen neck and salivary glands, fever.	1 in 200 children develops encephalitis. 1 in 5 males past puberty develop inflammation of the testes. Occasionally mumps causes infertility or deafness.	1 in 100 vaccine recipients may develop swelling of the salivary glands. 1 in 3 million recipients develop mild encephalitis.
Pertussis – contagious bacteria spread by droplets; causes whooping cough and vomiting, lasting up to 3 months.	About 1 in 200 whooping cough patients under the age of 6 months dies from pneumonia or brain damage.	As for DTPa vaccine (see diphtheria).
Pneumococcal infections – bacteria spread by droplets; causes fever, pneumonia, septicaemia, meningitis.	About 1 in 10 meningitis patients dies.	Polysaccharide vaccine: Less than 1 in 20 has pain or local reaction. Conjugate vaccine: About 1 in 10 has local reaction or fever.
Polio – contagious virus spread by faeces and saliva; causes fever, headache, vomiting and may progress to paralysis.	While many infections cause no symptoms, about 1 in 20 hospitalised patients dies and 1 in 2 patients who survive is permanently paralysed.	IPV: Local redness (1 in 3), pain (1 in 7) and swelling (1 in 10) common. Up to 1 in 10 has fever, crying, and decreased appetite.
Rotavirus – virus spread by faecal-oral route; causes of gastroenteritis which can be severe.	In children <5 years of age, rotavirus infections in Australia account for approximately 10,000 hospitalisations every year, approximately 115,000 children visit a GP and approximately 22,000 children require an Emergency Department visit. Illness may range from mild, watery diarrhoea of limited duration to severe dehydrating diarrhoea and fever which can result in death.	1 - 3 in a hundred vaccine recipients may develop diarrhoea or vomiting in the week following vaccine administration.
Rubella – contagious virus spread by droplets; causes fever, rash, swollen glands, but causes severe malformations to babies of infected pregnant women.	About 5 in 10 patients develop a rash and painful swollen glands; 5 in 10 adolescents and adults have painful joints; 1 in 3,000 develops thrombocytopenia (bruising or bleeding); 1 in 6,000 develops inflammation of the brain; 9 in 10 babies infected during the first 10 weeks after conception will have a major congenital abnormality (such as deafness, blindness, or heart defects).	About 1 in 10 have discomfort, local inflammation, or fever. About 1 in 20 has swollen glands, stiff neck, or joint pains. About 1 in 100 have a rash, which is noninfectious. Thrombocytopenia (bruising or bleeding) occurs after a first dose of MMR at a rate of 1 in 30,500.
Tetanus – caused by toxin of bacteria in soil; causes painful muscle spasms, convulsions, lockjaw.	About 1 in 10 patients dies. The risk is greatest for the very young or old.	As for DTPa vaccine (see diphtheria).
Varicella (chickenpox) - caused by highly contagious virus; causes low-grade fever and vesicular rash. Reactivation of the virus later in life causes herpes zoster (shingles).	1 in 5,000 patients develop encephalitis (brain inflammation). About 3 in 100,000 patients die. Infection during pregnancy can result in congentital malformations in the baby. Onset of infection in the mother from 5 days before to 2 days after delivery results in severe infection in the newborn baby in up to one-third of cases.	About 1 in 5 has a local reaction or fever. A mild varicella-like rash may develop in 3 - 5 per hundred recipients.

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Pre-Immunisation Checklist (58kb, pdf)