Our history
The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases (NCIRS) was established in August 1997 as part of the development of the Immunise Australia program and its '7 point plan'.
Core funding for the Centre continues to be provided through partnerships with the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, NSW Health and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. The Centre is affiliated with both the Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health and the School of Public Health of the University of Sydney.
The years since 1997 have seen the greatest ever expansion of Australia’s national immunisation program (NIP). Australia’s NIP is now one of the most comprehensive in the world, both in the number of vaccines and age groups included and in the immunisation coverage achieved. This large investment in prevention necessitates high quality information on the use and impact of public funds.
The roles and responsibilities of NCIRS in both research and surveillance have evolved in response to the continuous expansion in the number of vaccines scheduled in the NIP and the age groups included, as well as the size and scope of initiatives to deliver vaccines and to monitor vaccine coverage, vaccine safety and the incidence of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs). NCIRS also has a major role in research into important factors in the impact of vaccine programs including social factors and issues relevant to Indigenous people.
NCIRS has made extensive use of national databases on VPD notifications, hospitalisations, deaths and data on vaccine coverage to provide reports on vaccine preventable disease burden specific to Australia. Capacity in infectious disease modelling
was also identified as a key area of need in evaluating current and potential vaccine programs and is now conducted through a collaboration with the School of Public Health and Community Medicine under Professor Raina MacIntyre at the University of NSW. The NCIRS serosurveillance program is conducted as a collaboration with the Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology (CIDM) under Professor Lyn Gilbert and has underpinned modelling of vaccine programs to an extent possible in few other countries.
NCIRS has also developed expanded capacity in the analysis and reporting of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) and immunisation issues relevant to Indigenous people.
Specific projects have also been undertaken, such as development of a national surveillance scheme to obtain information on the type-specific prevalence of HPV in Indigenous and non-Indigenous women living in remote and non-remote areas.
Vaccine trials and clinical research, with a focus on policy-relevant research, has been a significant area of work since the inception of NCIRS. Professor Robert Booy is Head of Clinical Research, with a program encompassing the whole spectrum of age and underlying medical conditions from neonatal to the frail elderly and immunosuppressed patients. These studies are supported by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council. Major trials are also conducted with support from vaccine manufacturers.
Since its inception, NCIRS has also developed its capacity to meet the ever-increasing need for communication about vaccines and vaccine programs with researchers, governments, various professional groups representing vaccine providers, and consumers. There isNCIRS provides a comprehensive series of fact sheets, and NCIRS also hosts an electronic discussion network for immunisation professionals.
More information on the research conducted by NCIRS is available in the NCIRS biennial report.
