Combination Vaccines

Combination vaccines are vaccine shots that combine two or three different vaccines for single administration. They are available for citizens in Flinders in light of the current scenario. The most effective combination vaccine is the Diphtheria, Whooping Cough and Tetanus combination vaccine. Diphtheria is a bacterial infection which affects the mucous membranes of the nose and throat, and leads to growth of thick membranes in the throat, limiting breathing, affecting body tissues like the nerves, and so on. Whooping cough or pertussis is also a bacterial infection and it affects the respiratory tract leading to severe coughing causing breathing trouble and issues with oxygen supply to the brain. Tetanus is a bacterial infection which affects the nervous system and leads to stiffness in the body muscles, impacting the jaw and leading to severe spasms that may impact breathing as well. There are four different combination vaccines  available for protection against these infections. namely Infanrix Hexa (diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, Haemophilus influenzae type B, hepatitis B and polio), Infanrix IPV and Quadracel (tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough and polio), Infanrix and Tripacel (tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough) and Boostrix and Adacel (tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough-adult formulation).

Eligibility to get Combination Vaccines

The eligibility for obtaining combination vaccines has been clearly laid down below:

  • Boostrix Vaccine for 16 years and older.
  • Boostrix for pregnant women in each pregnancy from 20 weeks of gestation with the optimal duration between 20-32 weeks of gestation.
  • Parents after the birth of their newborn (if not immunized recently with whooping cough vaccine) are eligible for Adacel or Boostrix vaccines excluding new mothers who have got the same at the time of pregnancy.
  • Grandparents, other family members and relatives and carers who are in close contact with those who are too unwell or too young to be immunized, will be eligible for Boostrix.

Benefits of combination vaccines

Combination vaccines take two or multiple vaccines that may be individually given and combine them into a single shot. For instance, the child gets just 2-3 shots for safeguarding against 5 illnesses as compared to 5 shots individually. This ensures higher protection with lesser shots, saving  pain, time, money and hassles greatly. Children benefit from lesser discomfort and timely protection from a host of illnesses without having to wait for individual vaccines. Parents benefit from fewer doctor’s visits, lower costs and lesser time off from work or other commitments.

Another major benefit is that a combination vaccine undergoes stringent testing before being approved for usage in order to ensure proper safety and effectiveness. There are systems in place for noting any rare outcomes or reactions as well. They are effective for lowering the number of injections while simplifying the entire schedule of immunization. There are huge benefits for parents, children, pregnant women, healthcare providers, administrators and office managers alike.

Safety and precaution advisory

The combination vaccine is given in the form of an injection to the thigh if under 12 months of age or on the top of the arm if more than 12 months of age. Possible side effects of the combination vaccine may include the following:

  • Headaches
  • Redness, pain or swelling at the site of injection
  • Not feeling well
  • Mild fever between 37-38 degrees Celsius
  • Unsettled feelings for babies
  • Joint pain

The area around the site of injection may become stiff and red or swollen while extending towards the elbow or shoulder as well. This completely resolves within just a few days and usually does not require treatment. Always take the doctor’s advice and lower side effects by resting, drinking added fluids, taking paracetamol if advised and not overdressing if hot.

Save & Deliver Provides Combination Vaccinations

Save & Deliver offers a wide range of medicines and medical supplies to the local community with free home delivery services. We are a  local pharmacy that also provides free blood pressure and glucose testing in addition to free medication management, specialty services for doctor’s surgeries, fertility clinics and aged care facilities and free health check-up initiatives.

Save & Deliver takes care of all vaccination requirements for local residents including combination vaccines and flu vaccines. Our skilled team of professionals makes sure that all health and safety guidelines are followed from the outset.

FAQ

Most frequent questions and answers

The yellow fever vaccine should not be given with other vaccines and is given less than 30 days after the single antigen measles vaccine, single antigen rubella vaccine, single antigen mumps vaccine or the varicella vaccine.

Babies will require the following vaccines in Australia:

  • 2 months – HepB-DTPa_Hib_IPV
  • 4 months – HepB-DTPa_Hib_IPV
  • 6 months – HepB-DTPa_Hib_IPV
  • 12 months – Measles, mumps and rubella
  • 18 months – Haemophilus influenzae type B

Getting multiple vaccines at the same time has been shown to be medically safe when the combination vaccine has been sufficiently tested, and has received certification. Scientific research indicates that getting several vaccines together may not cause any health problems of a chronic nature.