Search
In 2024, the government of Western Australia introduced 'nirsevimab', a monoclonal antibody offering protection from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), for eligible infants. This study explores why parents of infants who were eligible to receive nirsevimab opted to decline or delay the immunisation.
Socio-economic inequality and vaccination inequity have long been critical issues. However, no studies have explored the gap in influenza vaccination uptake between public and private schools. Importantly, the extent to which socio-economic inequality translates into vaccination uptake inequity has not been quantified.
Obesity was a risk factor for severe COVID-19 in children during early outbreaks of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and the Delta variant. However, the relationship between obesity and COVID-19 severity during the Omicron wave remains unclear.
Monitoring the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital beds was a critical component of Australia's real-time surveillance strategy for the disease. From 2021 to 2023, we produced short-term forecasts of bed occupancy to support public health decision-making.
COVID-19 related non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) disrupted global healthcare utilisation, with notable declines in infection related paediatric hospitalisations. We aimed to identify non-infectious paediatric conditions for which the incidence of hospital admissions increased during the introduction and alleviation of NPIs in 2020.
Influenza A virus is the only influenza virus causing flu pandemics. Influenza is a highly contagious disease that can be deadly, especially in high-risk groups. Worldwide, these annual epidemics are estimated to result in about 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness and in about 290,000 to 650,000 respiratory deaths.
Seasonal inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) is routinely recommended during pregnancy to protect both mothers and infants from complications following influenza infection. While previous studies have evaluated the risk of major structural birth defects in infants associated with prenatal administration of monovalent pandemic IIV, fewer studies have evaluated the risk associated with prenatal seasonal IIV.
The Infectious Disease Implementation Research Team is a multi-disciplinary group researching the best way to implement infectious disease prevention and treatment strategies to improve the wellbeing of children and teenagers.
News headlines about the large number of life-threatening cases of the flu in Western Australia this winter have been hard to miss - find out what you can do to protect your family.
Perth parents are underestimating the serious consequences of the flu, with only 19 per cent of children under five years of age currently immunized against the virus ahead of the peak winter flu season.