we can help protect Australians & safeguard our community
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we can help protect Australians & safeguard our community

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With vaccines, we can help protect Australians and safeguard our community against a range of harmful infectious diseases.

Medical experts and vaccine scientists have long known that infectious diseases continue to evolve and present health challenges.

Vaccine innovation is key to being able to respond effectively to diseases which can otherwise claim lives and disrupt our way of life.

The threat of infectious diseases is certainly not new; nor is the need for vaccination. Vaccines have long been integral to the Australian way of life.

With vaccines, we are able to live life to the fullest – to not only help protect good health but also the freedoms, lifestyle and prosperity we all value.

Vaccines are an investment in a healthy future.

Australia has a world-leading National Immunisation Program (NIP), which helps to protect the community against infectious diseases. The NIP is funded by the Federal Government and currently provides vaccines at no cost to Australians to help protect against 19 diseases.

It is critical that we keep pace with new vaccine technologies and developments to ensure that new and improved vaccines are made available to effectively respond to known and emerging diseases.

To ensure we have the best possible protection against infectious diseases, it’s vital that Australians show their support for vaccines that may help protect against disease threats – now and in the future.

For more information about vaccinations, speak with a healthcare professional. And please join the conversation on social media to show that you’re #WithVaccines.

Your questions answered

We live in an age where so many diseases, once very common, have been almost entirely eradicated. Thanks to vaccines, we can protect our community from contracting and spreading infectious diseases and prevent unnecessary suffering. Still, it's essential to know the facts to understand why it's so important to consider vaccination.

Check out our frequently asked questions to learn more.

Vaccination is one of the most successful forms of disease prevention. Vaccines help protect us from many viral and bacterial infections that can cause serious illness and claim lives. Vaccination is one of the most important things we can do to protect ourselves and our children from vaccine-preventable illness.

However, vaccines also work at the community level. Some people can't be vaccinated, either because they are too young or because their immune system is weak. But if those around them are vaccinated, unvaccinated people benefit from something called ‘herd protection’. Put simply, because they are less likely to come in contact with the disease, they are unlikely to become sick.

All vaccines undergo rigorous safety testing before they are approved for use in Australia. During vaccine development, vaccine safety is tested in several stages. The first stage involves pre-clinical assessment in the laboratory. If a vaccine passes these safety tests, it is then evaluated in three phases of clinical trials, usually involving thousands of people.

All vaccines available in Australia are thoroughly tested and reviewed before they are approved for use by our national medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

Vaccines only become available if they meet the TGA’s rigorous standards for safety, quality and efficacy.

Once available, the TGA continues to closely monitor the safety of vaccines, along with how well they work in the community.

Some people do experience side effects after vaccination. Most side effects are mild and last no more than a couple of days. Serious reactions, like allergic reactions, are extremely rare.

Different types of vaccines work in different ways to offer protection.

Some vaccines work by producing an immune response, the body’s natural way of defending itself, without causing illness. These vaccines use severely weakened viruses or bacteria to train our body to recognise and fight the specific virus that causes an illness. They do not cause an infection, but our immune system still sees them as an ‘enemy’ and produces antibodies to help protect against future infection.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines work differently by directly instructing certain cells in the body to produce a mimic of a viral or bacterial protein. This mimic protein, or antigen, is recognised by the immune system, which mounts a defence, remembers it, and recalls it to fend off future infections before disease can set in.

We are entering an exciting era in vaccine research and development that offers the prospect of rapid and improved protection against known and emerging diseases.

The future of vaccines has never been more promising, with science and technology pointing the way to:

  • Accelerated development of vaccines for new infectious diseases, as well as existing diseases that are currently considered non-preventable.
  • Enhanced protection against diseases for which vaccines are currently available.
  • Bespoke vaccines for specific patient populations (e.g. the elderly, those with existing health conditions, etc).
  • Reduced production timelines for vaccines to help protect against new disease strains.

 

New and improved vaccines are regularly becoming available.

While some of these vaccines are provided at no cost and funded by Federal or state/territory governments, others are not. Talk to a healthcare professional for more information about vaccinations.

Protect health and
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We believe in a world where no one suffers or dies from a vaccine-preventable disease.

Find out about Sanofi as a world leader in vaccine technology, and talk to a healthcare professional for more information about vaccinations.
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References
  1. Andre FE, Booy R, et al. Vaccination greatly reduces disease, disability, death and inequity worldwide.
    Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2008, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Vol. 86, pp. 81-160.

  2. Australian Department of Health. Immunisation: Why Get Immunised? 2020.
    https://www.health.gov.au/healthtopics/immunisation/about-immunisation/why-get-immunised.

  3. UK National Health Service. Why Vaccination is Safe and Important. 2019. Available at:
    https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/why-vaccination-is-safe-and-important/.

  4. National Immunisation Program Schedule – from 1 July 2020. Available at:
    https://www.health.gov.au/healthtopics/immunisation/immunisation-throughout-life/national-immunisation-program-schedule.

  5. Department of Health. COVID-19 Vaccines. Available: https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/getting-vaccinated-for-covid-19.

  6. Australian Academy of Science. What does the Future Hold for Vaccination? 2021. Available at:
    https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/science-booklets/science-immunisation/6-what-doesfuture-hold-vaccination.

  7. Australian Academy of Science. How are Vaccines Shown to be Safe? 2021. Available at:
    https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/science-booklets/science-immunisation/5-how-arevaccines-shown-be-safe.

  8. Australian Department of Health. Immunisation: Are Vaccines Safe? 2020. Available at:
    https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/immunisation/about-immunisation/are-vaccines-safe.

  9. Australian Department of Health. Immunisation: How does Immunisation Work? 2020/ Available at:
    https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/immunisation/about-immunisation/how-does-immunisation-work.

  10. World Health Organisation. How do Vaccines Work? Available at:
    https://www.who.int/news-room/featurestories/detail/how-do-vaccines-work.

  11. Sanofi. Inoculation Innovation: Bringing New Technology to Vaccines. 2018. Available at:
    https://www.sanofi.com/en/media-room/articles/2018/inoculation-innovation.

  12. Sanofi. Form 20-F 2020. Available at: https://www.sanofi.com/-/media/Project/One-Sanofi- Web/Websites/Global/Sanofi- COM/Home/common/docs/investors/2021_03_23_Sanofi_20F_FINAL_Acc.pdf?la=en&hash=FE3E1123159407 78BD782A2F0919A086.

  13. Sanofi. mRNA Technology: Vaccines and Beyond. Available at: https://www.sanofi.com/en/science-and-innovation/research-and-development/technology-platforms/mrna-technology-platform