All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card. Some items, including privately purchased vaccines and consumables, attract a fee.
Vaccination appointments are short, and a couple of small things stop them being wasted. Tap each one.
Four things worth doing first
For children, the blue book. For adults, whatever record you have — or nothing at all, because we can check the Australian Immunisation Register. What we cannot do is guess, and guessing leads to either a missed dose or an unnecessary one.
“Here's the immunisation record.”Several vaccines are free for some people and purchased by others, and the rules shift over time. Reception and your GP will check what applies to you rather than assuming, so nothing is bought unnecessarily.
“Am I eligible for the funded one?”Some travel vaccines need multiple doses spaced weeks apart, and some need time to become effective. A week before you fly is often too late for the ones that matter most.
“I'm travelling — here's where and when.”A serious reaction to a previous dose, a severe allergy, a weakened immune system, pregnancy or a current illness all change the plan. None of them necessarily stop vaccination, but all of them need to be known first.
“I had a reaction to a vaccine before.”Open any of these for what it involves. What is funded depends on your age, your health and sometimes your job — we check before anything is purchased.
Children
What happens The routine schedule from birth through to adolescence, given by our nurses, recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register, and free under the National Immunisation Program.
The schedule runs at birth, six weeks, four months, six months, twelve months, eighteen months, four years and then into school-age doses.
If your child has fallen behind, there is a catch-up schedule and it is worth doing. Being late is not the same as having missed the chance.
Flu
What happens The annual influenza vaccine, free under the National Immunisation Program for a number of groups and available privately for everyone else.
Flu vaccine is free for children six months to five years, people 65 and over, pregnant women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people with certain medical conditions.
Protection wanes over a season and the strains change, which is why it is repeated each year rather than once.
Older adults
What happens Shingles and pneumococcal vaccination for older adults and for people with particular medical conditions — both funded for the groups they are recommended for.
Shingles is considerably more unpleasant than most people expect, and the nerve pain that can follow it may last months or longer. The vaccine substantially reduces both risks.
Pneumococcal vaccination protects against a common cause of serious pneumonia, and is recommended for older adults and for people with chronic lung, heart, kidney or immune conditions.
Adults
What happens A check of what you have had and what you are missing, and a catch-up plan for anything overdue — tetanus, whooping cough, measles, hepatitis and more.
Tetanus boosters lapse, whooping cough protection fades, and a good number of adults born in certain years never completed measles vaccination.
Whooping cough is specifically recommended in every pregnancy and for anyone who will be around a new baby — grandparents included.
Travel & work
What happens Vaccines recommended for where you are going or what you do, planned far enough ahead that the courses can be completed properly.
Travel vaccines are almost all privately purchased, and some require several doses spaced over weeks. Booking six weeks ahead where you can makes a real difference.
Occupational vaccination — hepatitis B for healthcare and some trades, for instance — is often required by an employer, who will sometimes reimburse it.
This is the question reception is asked most often, and the answer depends on you rather than on the vaccine. Tap a card.
Vaccines funded by the Commonwealth for the people they are recommended for.
Everything outside the program, or funded vaccines given outside the eligible group.
Bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card on weekdays. Weekend arrangements differ — please check with reception.
Tap any card for what that part of the visit involves.
Say what the vaccination is for. Travel needs a longer appointment and some planning; a flu shot does not.
Flip backWe look up what you have had and what you are funded for, so nothing is purchased that you could have had free.
Flip backAllergies, previous reactions, current illness, pregnancy, and anything affecting your immune system. Quick, but they matter.
Flip backWhat the vaccine protects against, what the common side effects are, and your chance to ask before rather than after.
Flip backGiven by our nurse, usually in the upper arm. Children are often better sitting on a parent's lap.
Flip backYou wait in the waiting room afterwards. Serious reactions are rare and almost always happen in that window.
Flip backA sore arm, and sometimes a mild fever or tiredness for a day or two. That is the immune system doing its job.
Flip backRecorded on the Australian Immunisation Register, which you can view through myGov. Ask if you need a printed statement.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print the list to bring with you.
Most vaccinations are given by our practice nurses. Where advice is needed first, any of our doctors can help.
Our GPs hold general registration with AHPRA. Areas listed are special interests within general practice rather than recognised specialist registration. Every one of our doctors provides this. If the GP you usually see is booked, any of the others can help — your records are shared across the practice, so nobody is starting from scratch.
Pick your situation and what you're coming in for. We'll show you what to expect before you book.
What are you coming in for?
Figures shown are what you pay at the clinic for the appointment itself. Medicines, devices, imaging and specialist fees are set elsewhere. Reception will always confirm the cost with you before anything goes ahead.
Vaccines on the National Immunisation Program are free for the people they are funded for, and the appointment is bulk billed on weekdays with a valid Medicare card. Vaccines outside the program — most travel vaccines, for instance — are purchased privately and quoted before they are ordered.
It is better to book, so the vaccine is in stock and a nurse is available. Ring (02) 4008 4400 or book online.
Usually yes. Most vaccines can be given at the same visit, often in different arms. Your GP or nurse will tell you where spacing is needed.
From around April, before the season builds. Protection develops over about two weeks and wanes across the season, so very early is not ideal either. It is still worth having later in the season if you have missed it.
Most commonly a sore arm, and sometimes mild fever, tiredness or aches for a day or two. Serious reactions are rare, which is why you wait fifteen minutes afterwards. Ring us if something worries you.
No. There is a catch-up schedule and it is worth completing. Bring the blue book if you have it, or we will check the register.
It is recommended in every pregnancy, ideally between 20 and 32 weeks, and for anyone who will be in close contact with a new baby — partners, grandparents and carers included. Protection fades over years, so a previous dose long ago is not enough.
Eligibility is based on age and on certain medical conditions, and the funded groups have changed over recent years. Ask your GP or reception to check rather than assuming either way.
Everything we give is recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register, which you can view and download through myGov or the Medicare app. We can also print a statement for you.
A mild cold is usually fine. A significant fever or illness is generally a reason to wait a short time. Ring reception if you are unsure rather than turning up and being sent away.
Catch-up vaccination is available at any age, and nobody here will make you feel awkward about how long it has been.
Childhood, school, pregnancy and adult vaccines, including flu, shingles, pneumococcal and travel vaccines, recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register. Vaccines on the National Immunisation Program are free for eligible people.
The clinic is inside Salamander Bay Shopping Centre at Shop 5, 2 Town Centre Circuit, with free parking, and is a short drive from Nelson Bay, Corlette, Soldiers Point, Anna Bay, Shoal Bay, Fingal Bay and Medowie.
Book online with HotDoc at any hour, or call (02) 4008 4400.
From the health journal
