Vaccinations - Denmark Medical Centre

To help protect you, your loved ones and those around you in the community, you and your family can receive all of the common vaccinations at Denmark Medical Centre.

Learn more about child and adult vaccinations, as well as common questions about the flu vaccine.

Children's vaccinations

Children receive immunisations against different diseases at different stages throughout childhood. These immunisations are recommended by the Department of Health to protect little ones from serious diseases.

To learn more about the vaccination schedule recommended for children, visit the Department of Health website. If you have any questions about the vaccinations that your child needs – or are concerned about side effects or other issues – please feel free to make an appointment with one of our GPs. We’re here to help answer your questions, and we can also provide all the immunisations your child needs to protect their little immune systems.

Vaccinations for adults

As an adult, there are different points in your life that you may need to be immunised. For example:

Pregnant women are recommended to receive the whooping cough vaccination and flu jab
Women planning a pregnancy are recommended to get the rubella and chickenpox vaccines
Some adults may need catch-up vaccines if they missed out on them in childhood, or may need boosters of vaccines like tetanus from time to time
Older adults may be advised to get vaccines for things like shingles, influenza or pneumococcal disease

Extra immunisations are also recommended for certain groups, like Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, those working in certain jobs, and those with certain medical conditions.

To discuss your situation and whether you’re adequately immunised, please make an appointment with one of our GPs.

Who qualifies for a free annual flu vaccine?

In Western Australia, the following groups of people are eligible to receive a free government-funded flu vaccination each year:

Anyone six months and older with medical conditions that put them at risk of severe flu
Aboriginal people six months and older
Pregnant women
Children aged six months to less than five years
People 65 years of age and over

In WA, is the flu vaccine recommended for young children?

All children aged from six months to less than five years of age should receive the flu vaccine each year. This is because babies, toddlers and young kids are at increased risk of becoming more unwell if they get the flu.

If you have children in this age bracket, the vaccination is free.

What is the flu and how does it spread?

More common in the winter months, the flu virus is transmitted via respiratory droplets – so, typically, coughing and sneezing on hands or surfaces, which another person then touches.

The virus can cause may different symptoms. It usually comes on fast in adults, with symptoms like tiredness, loss of appetite, body or muscle aches and pains, headache, fevers and chills, which may be accompanied by a cough, runny nose and sneezing. Young children may not experience these same symptoms – but they may have a burning fever.

Complications of influenza include bronchitis, croup, ear infection, pneumonia as well as less common but serious heart and neurological complications.

What are the side effects of the flu vaccine?

After getting a flu shot, about 10% of patients experience fever, muscle aches and malaise. Another 10% experience localised swelling, redness and pain at the site of the vaccine.

Who shouldn’t receive flu vaccines?

The flu vaccine is not recommended for babies under six months of age, nor for anyone who has experienced anaphylaxis following a previous dose of any influenza vaccine.