Presenter: Insert presenter name

1. Educational lecture template (line manager) Vaccine preventable diseases at Insert HHS/facility name Presenter: Insert presenter name

2. What are vaccine-preventable diseases? • A vaccine preventable disease (VPD) is an infectious disease for which an effective vaccine is available.

3. What are vaccine-preventable diseases? • VPDs may cause: • Serious, life threatening illness and even death • Chronic (long lasting) impacts with ongoing health problems • Adverse pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriage, stillbirth and birth defects

4. Vaccination • A vaccine is a product often made from parts of killed viruses or bacteria, or from live weakened strains of viruses or bacteria. • Vaccines usually induce an immune response to mimic the body’s response to natural infection, but without the harmful consequences of the infection itself. • Immunity following vaccination generally lasts for months to many years depending on the nature of the vaccine and individual factors. • Some vaccine courses require more than one dose.

5. Transmission of VPDs VPDs can be spread in a variety of ways depending on the disease, such as: • inhaling droplets expelled from an infected person when they cough, sneeze, laugh or speak • inhaling respiratory particles carried on air currents • contact with infected blood and body fluids • contact with fluid from vesicles (blisters) • touching a surface that someone has contaminated and then touching your own mucous membranes • contact with something contaminated with faeces that is transferred to another person’s mouth (faecal-oral route)

6. Why is vaccination important for staff? Working in healthcare: • ↑ risk of exposure to VPDs • ↑ risk of transmitting a VPD to people at risk

7. Why is vaccination important for staff? Vaccination protects you, your family, and patients you have contact with. Health professionals have a duty of care to protect their patients.

8. VPDs in healthcare • All healthcare workers in direct or indirect contact with patients are recommended to be vaccinated against the following: • Measles • Mumps • Rubella • Pertussis (whooping cough) • Influenza • Varicella (chickenpox) • In addition, healthcare workers who have contact with blood or body fluids are recommended to be vaccinated against: • Hepatitis B

9. VPDs in healthcare • Apart from the standard group of vaccinations, there are additional vaccination recommendations for some healthcare worker categories: • Hepatitis A • Japanese encephalitis • Screening for tuberculosis should also be undertaken for all healthcare workers working in clinical areas

10. Queensland Health Policy • There is a requirement for prospective workers for roles with VPD requirements to provide evidence of vaccination or that they are not susceptible. • Evidence must be provided prior to offer of employment / prior to execution of contract • The requirement does not apply to existing workers unless they apply for a role in another Queensland Health entity.

11. Line manager responsibilities Step 1: Confirm that the role requires a VPD vaccination check • Check role description for specific VPD requirements Step 2: Provide both the following forms to the preferred applicant They can choose which they complete. • VPD evidence certification form (PDF 57kb) • This form is to be completed by the applicant’s treating medical practitioner, registered nurse or occupational health provider. • VPD evidence form (PDF97kb) • This form is completed by the applicant if they already have copies of acceptable forms of evidence.  Certified copies of the appropriate documents, as outlined on theproviding evidence page must be attached. 

12. Line manager responsibilities Step 3: Review evidence forms • Review completed VPD evidence form (and certified documents if required) to ensure vaccination status meets requirements outlined in role description. Step 4: Confirmation • HR Delegate confirms that VPD vaccination check has been completed in selection report.

13. Line manager responsibilities • Vaccine preventable diseases evidence requirements guide: Line manager’s guide can be found here: https://www.health.qld.gov.au/publications/employment/work-for-us/dept-of-health/vpd-evidence-guide.pdf

14. Evidence in detail

15. Evidence: General • Evidence must be provided as per the list of acceptable evidence found in the policy and guideline • Evidence must be provided in English • If the VPDEvidence Certification Form is completed by the prospective worker’s health practitioner for all required VPDs – this is all that is required

16. Evidence: Hepatitis B • Evidence of 2 or 3 dose (as age appropriate) course of hepatitis B vaccine Vaccination record book with details of vaccine given and clinic attended, or letter from a medical practitioner, vaccine service provider or other health professional acceptable to the HHS or the Department with details of vaccine given. OR

17. Evidence: Hepatitis B • A pathology testing result showing positive anti-HBs (≥10 IU/mL) The test may be written as: • Hepatitis B surface antibody • Anti-HBs • HBsAb Do not confuse this with other hepatitis B testing, for example; HBsAg, anti-HBc, HBeAg, anti-HBe. The result will be expressed as a number, or not detected. Any number equal to or greater than 10 IU/mL (≥10IU/mL) indicates immunity. A result less than 10 IU/mL (<10 IU/mL) is insufficient for employment, where proof of a level ≥10IU/mL is required. OR

18. Evidence: Hepatitis B • Letter from a medical practitioner, vaccine service provider or other health professional, acceptable to the HHS or the Department, with a statement that the individual is not susceptible to hepatitis B. • Such a letter should be on practice/facility letterhead, signed by the provider/practitioner, and including their professional designation, service provider number (if applicable) and practice stamp.

19. Evidence: Measles, Mumps and Rubella • Evidence of 2 doses of MMR vaccine at least one month apart • Minimum one dose pre offer of employment Vaccination record book with details of vaccine given and clinic attended, or letter from a medical practitioner, vaccine service provider or other health professional acceptable to the HHS or the Department with details of vaccine given. OR Image: CDC, 1963. ID# 1150. Retrieved October 20, 2016, from https://phil.cdc.gov/phil/details.asp

20. Evidence: Measles, Mumps and Rubella • A pathology testing result showing positive IgG for measles and mumps and rubella. Do not confuse this with IgM. OR • Birth date before 1 January 1966 Image: CDC (1976). ID#4284. Retrieved October 20, 2016, from https://phil.cdc.gov/phil/details.asp

21. Evidence: Varicella • Two doses of varicella vaccine at least one month apart (evidence of one dose is sufficient if the person was vaccinated before 14 years of age), or a single dose of Zoster vaccine (for those aged 60 years or over). • Minimum one dose pre offer of employment Vaccination record book with details of vaccine given and clinic attended, or letter from a medical practitioner, vaccine service provider or other health professional acceptable to the HHS or the Department with details of vaccine given. OR

22. Evidence: Varicella • A pathology testing result showing positive IgG for varicella. Do not confuse this with IgM OR

23. Evidence: Varicella • Letter from a medical practitioner citing documented evidence of previous physician-diagnosed chickenpox or shingles with a statement that the individual is not susceptible to chickenpox. Such a letter should be on practice/facility letterhead, signed by the provider, and including their professional designation, service provider number and practice stamp.

24. Evidence: Pertussis • One adult dose of diphtheria / tetanus / pertussis vaccine (dTpa) within the past 10 years. Vaccination record book with details of vaccine given and clinic attended, or letter from a medical practitioner, vaccine service provider or other health professional acceptable to the HHS or the Department with details of vaccine given.

25. Evidence: Pertussis • Please note: serology (blood test) is not useful in determining immunity to pertussis. • Pathology results should not be accepted as evidence of immunity to pertussis.

26. Further information Information about vaccines and VPDs can be found: • Queensland Health Immunisation https://www.health.qld.gov.au/clinical-practice/guidelines-procedures/diseases-infection/immunisation/default.asp • Immunise Australia Program http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/home • The Australian Immunisation Handbook http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/Handbook10-home • National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance webpage http://www.ncirs.edu.au/ • World Health Organization (WHO) http://www.who.int/topics/immunization/en/ • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/index.html