The statewide Meningococcal ACWY vaccination program for 15 to 19 year olds has reached its final phase, with the vaccine now available from General Practitioners.
The three-year program, which was initiated as a result of the increase in serogroup W disease over the past three years, runs until 2019.
Initial stages of the new program saw teenagers receive the vaccine through school, and those no longer at school received the vaccine at community health clinics and some university student health centres.
As of late September, the vaccine has also been made available free at GP clinics.
It is important to note that while the vaccine is free, some GPs may charge a consultation fee.
Meningococcal disease is an uncommon, life-threatening illness caused by a bacterial infection of the blood and/or the membranes that line the spinal cord and brain, and occasionally of other sites, such as the throat or large joints.
The incidence of the disease has decreased significantly in WA in recent years –from a peak of 86 cases in 2000 to a low of 16 cases in 2013 – but now appears to be increasing again due to the emergence of new virulent strains of serogroup W, and to a lesser extent serogroup Y, meningococcal bacteria.
A vaccine to protect against the serogroup C type of meningococcal disease, which in the past was responsible for around 15 per cent of cases in WA, but is now very rare, is provided free to children at 12 months of age. A vaccine against serogroup B meningococcal infection, historically the most common type in WA, is available on prescription. Combination vaccines are also available that protect against four types of the organism (serogroups A, W and Y, in addition to serogroup C).
Details of where 15-19 year-olds can access the meningococcal ACWY vaccine are available on Healthy WA (external site).