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News & Events

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.

News & Events

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.

Research

Children with chronic medical conditions are at increased risk of severe influenza. Uptake of influenza vaccination in children and adolescents with these identified special risk medical conditions is suboptimal.

Research

Children with chronic medical diseases are at an unacceptable risk of hospitalisation and death from influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections. Over the past two decades, behavioural scientists have learnt how to design non-coercive 'nudge' interventions to encourage positive health behaviours. Our study aims to evaluate the impact of multicomponent nudge interventions on the uptake of COVID-19 and influenza vaccines in medically at-risk children.

Research

Influenza is a common cause of acute respiratory infection, and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute respiratory infection that emerged as a pandemic worldwide before the start of the 2020 Australian influenza season.

Research

Amidst the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, understanding the transmission dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is key to providing peace of mind for the community and informing policy-making decisions. While available data suggest that school-aged children are not significant spreaders of SARS-CoV-2, the possibility of transmission in schools remains an ongoing concern, especially among an aging teaching workforce. Even in low-prevalence settings, communities must balance the potential risk of transmission with the need for students' ongoing education.

Research

We aimed to determine Australian paediatricians' beliefs and practices around the influenza vaccination of children.

Research

To assess the association between in utero exposure to seasonal inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) and the risk of a diagnosis of a neurodevelopmental disorder in early childhood.

Research

With the emergence of novel vaccines and new applications for older vaccines, co-administration is increasingly likely. The immunomodulatory effects of BCG could theoretically alter the reactogenicity of co-administered vaccines. Using active surveillance in a randomised controlled trial, we aimed to determine whether co-administration of BCG vaccination changes the safety profile of influenza vaccination.

Research

Respiratory viruses are increasingly detected in children with community-acquired pneumonia but prevalence estimates vary substantially. We aimed to systematically review and pool estimates for 22 viruses commonly associated with community-acquired pneumonia.