Immunisations and diabetes

Immunisation is the process of becoming immune to a disease as a result of having a vaccine. We are fortunate in Australia to have vaccines to protect us from many diseases. Some of these diseases can be more severe in people living with diabetes, so you may be advised to:

• have more vaccines than are recommended for people without diabetes
• have them at a younger age.

The National Immunisation Program (NIP) provides vaccines in Australia. Guidelines indicate who should receive each vaccine and at what age. Vaccines that are recommended for certain groups of people are not always funded for those groups. For example, the pneumococcal vaccine is recommended for all people living with diabetes over the age of 1 year, but it is only funded at the same age as the rest of the population. However, the flu vaccine is free for people with diabetes, but not the general population.

The following vaccines are available under the program:

• Chickenpox
• Diphtheria
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
• Influenza
• Measles
• Meningococcal
• Mumps
• Polio
• Pneumococcal
• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
• Rotavirus
• Rubella
• Shingles
• Tetanus
• Whooping Cough

More vaccines have been added to the National Immunisation Program over the years, so you may not have received all of those recommended for you. This could also be the case if you have moved to Australia from another country. Speak to your doctor to see if you need to catch up on any vaccines.

The program covers free catch-up vaccinations if they were missed in childhood for:

• people younger than 20 years old
• refugees and humanitarian entrants of any age.

Others may have to pay privately for catch-up vaccinations.

The program funds all vaccines linked to family assistance payments.

Some vaccines provide lifetime protection, where others need a booster dose at a later time. Some, such as the flu and COVID vaccines, need to be given regularly as the virus they protect us from changes.

Some vaccines are highly effective at preventing a disease, for example polio. Others, such as the COVID vaccine, don’t prevent you from developing the disease, but reduce your chance of becoming severely unwell with it.

There are other vaccines available that you may need that aren’t covered under the National Immunisation Program, such as for travel or if you work in certain jobs. Some vaccines are funded under state government programs.

Let’s summarise the immunisations we have had available for some time that are recommended in addition to childhood vaccinations:

Influenza (‘flu’)

The flu vaccine is recommended for all people over the age of 6 months and is even more important for people with diabetes because of the increased risk of becoming more unwell with the flu. A new vaccine needs to be given each year because the flu virus changes.

Flu vaccines are free for people with diabetes.

Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough)

This vaccine is recommended for all adults (with or without diabetes) at age 50 and 65 years if they have not had one in the previous 10 years.

Women are also advised to have a dose in each pregnancy, ideally from 20-32 weeks, but it may be given up to the time of birth. This is to help prevent whooping cough in them and their newborn. The vaccine is funded for pregnant women.

COVID

Vaccines for COVID are regularly updated as the virus changes. They are recommended for people with diabetes at various intervals, depending on your age and other health conditions.

See here for current recommendations and speak to your doctor about when a vaccination is recommended for you. 

COVID vaccines are free for everyone in Australia, even those without a Medicare card. 

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a liver infection that can lead to long term liver disease. The hepatitis B vaccine is not specifically recommended for adults with diabetes unless you have other risk factors or if you are travelling to areas where hepatitis B is a problem. The hepatitis vaccine is now part of the immunisation program for children in Australia.

Pneumococcal vaccine

Pneumococcal disease refers to several serious conditions caused by the pneumococcus bacteria. These conditions include meningitis (infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord), septicaemia (bloodstream infection) and pneumonia.

The pneumococcal vaccine is recommended for all people with diabetes over 1-year-old, but it is only funded under the National Immunisation Program for these age groups:

• Infants and children aged under 5 years
• First Nations adults aged 50 years and over
• Non-First Nations adults aged 70 years and over

You may also consider:

Meningococcal disease vaccine

This is a rare but serious bacterial infection which can cause septicaemia (bloodstream infection) or meningitis (infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord).

There are different types of meningococcal vaccines to address the different strains of the disease.

Diabetes isn’t one of the conditions where the vaccines are specifically recommended, but anyone who wants to protect themselves from meningococcal disease can access the vaccines.

In addition to these vaccines, some newer vaccines have become available in recent times.

Shingles (herpes zoster) vaccine

Shingles is a condition caused by reactivation of the chicken pox virus in the body. It can cause severe pain which can last for months. A new, more effective vaccine against shingles became available on the National Immunisation Program on November 1, 2023. It is called Shingrix. It is recommended for:

• all people aged 50 years and over
• immunocompromised people aged 18 years and over
• people aged 50 years and over who live in the same household as someone who has a weakened immune system.

It is free for:

• people aged 65 years and over
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years and over
• people aged 18 years and over considered at increased risk of herpes zoster due to an underlying condition and/or treatments that affect the immune system – this does not include diabetes.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common virus that can cause conditions ranging from mild colds through to pneumonia. An RSV vaccine has recently become available.  

RSV vaccination is recommended for:

• pregnant women to protect their newborn infant
• all people aged over 75 years and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged over 60 years
• people with medical risk factors for severe RSV disease (including diabetes) aged over 60 years.

However, it is not funded at this stage (except for pregnant women as above) and needs to be purchased privately.

Immunisation is a great way to reduce your risk of either getting a disease or from becoming severely unwell if you do develop a disease. Speak to your doctor to see if you are missing any vaccines. And of course, for now, have your flu vaccine (and COVID vaccine if it is due) to avoid becoming very unwell this winter.