Tasmania Vaccine Solutions

17/12/2025

🌊 Throwback Thursday: The Pump That Changed the World

London, 1854.
A deadly cholera outbreak was sweeping through Soho, killing hundreds within days. Theories about the cause were everywhere “bad air,” curses, even divine punishment.

But one doctor wasn’t convinced.
Dr John Snow (and no, not the one from Game of Thrones 😅) had a hunch that the disease was spreading through contaminated water, not the air.

Armed with observation, logic, and a hand-drawn map, he plotted every case of cholera in the neighbourhood.
The pattern was undeniable, they all clustered around a single water pump on Broad Street.

Snow convinced local authorities to remove the pump handle.
Within days, the outbreak stopped.

That simple act, one map, one pump, one bold decision, became one of the most important breakthroughs in medical history.

This was the birth of modern epidemiology, the science of tracing, tracking, and preventing disease. Snow proved that data, observation, and courage could save lives long before microscopes could even see bacteria.

💬 One pump handle. One insight. One man who changed how we fight disease forever.

15/12/2025

The Shingles Vaccine Might Protect More Than You Think 💉❤️

New research presented at IDWeek 2025 has found that adults aged 50+ who received the Shingrix shingles vaccine had significantly lower risks of dementia, heart attack, stroke, blood clots, and even death.

That’s right...one vaccine that’s designed to prevent a painful rash could also help protect your heart and brain.

Here’s why it makes sense 👇
Shingles happens when the chickenpox virus (which stays in your body after childhood) wakes up later in life. That reactivation causes inflammation and inflammation plays a huge role in diseases like dementia and heart disease.

By stopping shingles, the vaccine may be lowering that inflammation burden across the whole body.

🧩 In a study of over 174,000 adults, vaccination was linked to:

50% lower risk of vascular dementia

27% lower risk of blood clots

25% lower risk of heart attack or stroke

21% lower risk of death overall

So if you or someone you love is 50 or older, this isn’t “just another vaccine.”
It’s a step toward healthier ageing, protecting your nerves, your memory, and your heart. 💪

11/12/2025

🖤💛❤️ Vaccine Hero Friday: Jilpia Nappaljari Jones (AM)

This week, we honour Jilpia Nappaljari Jones, a proud Walmajarri woman from the Kimberley and one of Australia’s first Aboriginal Registered Nurses.

Taken from her family as a young child, Jilpia turned her own experiences into a lifetime of service, working to strengthen the health, wellbeing, and voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

She trained as a nurse in the 1960s and later joined Professor Fred Hollows on the National Trachoma and Eye Health Program, travelling across remote Country to prevent blindness and bring culturally safe care directly to communities.

Her story is one of courage, compassion, and cultural pride showing that real health equity begins with listening, respect, and community leadership.

Here in lutruwita/Tasmania, we carry those same values.
At Tasmania Vaccine Solutions, we work to make healthcare accessible to everyone by bringing vaccination to workplaces, schools, and rural towns ensuring that prevention reaches people where they live, work, and belong.

Like Jilpia, we believe that no one’s Country, culture, or postcode should decide their protection.

💉 Health, respect, and connection, from the Kimberley to lutruwita.

We acknowledge the family and community of Jilpia Nappaljari Jones for their enduring legacy and thank them for sharing her story publicly.

10/12/2025

So grateful to be apart of Mission Health! It’s truly an honour.

With Dec 8-14 being Nurse Practitioner Week, it serves as the perfect opportunity to thank the wonderfully selfless Nurse Practitioners across Australia for their invaluable contributions they provide every single day, including our very own Jane Laidlaw and Sarah Doran at Mission Health.

Jane’s selfless nature is a core reason why Mission Health began in 2019 as she saw a gap in adequate health care in Launceston for those in the community experiencing homelessness. Since then, the service has grown to what it is today, a team of staff and volunteer health professionals who share the same dedication of helping those who need it most.

Sarah has only joined us this year (and is commencing her studies next year!) but has already made such an impact in the operation of Mission Health. This year alone the Mission Health team has seen incredible growth and has recorded over 2,000 occasions of free service to a wide variety of clients, many of which would likely otherwise go without the adequate medical care they need and deserve.

So join us in celebrating and giving a warm thank you to not only Jane and Sarah, but the thousands of Nurse Practitioners and like-minded professionals across Australia who so often put themselves second for the greater good of their communities!

09/12/2025

Business Wednesday: Imposter Syndrome

Sometimes when I walk into a networking event or an awards night, I get that familiar knot in my stomach.
You know the one, where you suddenly feel like you’ve stepped into the wrong room.
Everyone looks polished and confident, chatting easily about their achievements. And there’s me, a local nurse who started with a vaccine fridge, a laptop, and a whole lot of heart.

That little voice whispers, “You don’t belong here. You haven’t earned this.”
But lately, I’ve started to realise something important…
Imposter syndrome feels a lot like growth.

Growth isn’t neat or comfortable. It’s messy. It’s the flutter in your chest when you’re about to speak up in a room full of people you admire. It’s saying yes to things that scare you a little. It’s the discomfort of stretching into a bigger version of yourself, one that your old self wouldn’t have recognised.

Over time, I’ve learned to become comfortable with discomfort.
Because every time I’ve pushed through that uneasiness, something good has followed new connections, opportunities, confidence, and proof that I do belong there after all.

So if you’re standing in a room and quietly wondering whether you’ve earned your place maybe that feeling isn’t a sign you’re out of your depth. Maybe it’s proof that you’re growing into it. 🌿

07/12/2025

🧠 Myth Busting Monday: “Because It Worked”...But We Can’t Take That for Granted. 💉

“What’s that mark on your arm, Mum?”
“My smallpox vaccine scar.”
“Why don’t I have one?”
“Because it worked.”

This image sums up one of the greatest wins in public health history.
Vaccines worked so well that entire diseases disappeared, smallpox was eradicated in 1980 thanks to global immunisation.

But lately, we’ve started to see something worrying.
🧒 Measles outbreaks.
🤰 Whooping cough spreading again.
💉 Fewer children getting routine vaccines on time.

These diseases didn’t just vanish, they were kept away by consistent, community-wide vaccination. When we stop vaccinating, they come straight back.

Vaccines don’t just protect us individually they protect babies too young to be vaccinated, people with immune conditions, and our broader community.

So while it’s easy to forget what these diseases once did, those of us who’ve seen the scars literally know just how high the stakes are.

Let’s keep that bridge of protection strong. Because it worked and it still does. 💪

04/12/2025

Q Fever Clinic in Circular Head today!
Such a stunning spot at the Circular Head Study Centre.

I absolutely love bringing essential health services directly to rural communities. Every town, every clinic, every conversation reminds me why this work matters.

Fun fact: Q Fever bacteria can survive in dust for months and even travel in the wind, which is why vaccination is such an important layer of protection for people who work in agriculture, meat processing, or anyone spending time around animals.

Big thanks to the wonderful humans who came through today. Your community spirit makes days like this a joy.

03/12/2025

🐀🔥 Throwback Thursday: The Fire That Fought the Plague

London, 1665.
The city was choking on fear, and rats. 🐀

The Great Plague had returned, killing between 15% and 20% of London’s population. In just one week that September, more than 7,000 people died. Entire streets were sealed. Doors were marked with a red cross and the words “Lord have mercy upon us.”

People didn’t know it then, but the real culprit wasn’t “bad air”, it was fleas on black rats, infected with Yersinia pestis, the cause of the bubonic plague.

Then, one year later, came another disaster.
In September 1666, a small fire in a Pudding Lane bakery grew into a raging inferno. The Great Fire of London destroyed over 13,000 homes and changed the city forever.

🔥 While the fire was tragic, it may have helped wipe out many rat-infested wooden houses and flea-ridden goods that fuelled the plague’s spread.
Still, historians say the epidemic was already fading before the flames, the fire simply finished what colder weather and time had begun.

When London rebuilt, it rose from the ashes with wider streets, brick houses, and better sanitation, the beginnings of modern public health.

💬 Every epidemic rewrites the story of humanity, forcing us to rebuild, rethink, and rise stronger than before.

01/12/2025

🚨 Winter Warning: Meningococcal Cases on the Rise

Health experts are urging us to stay alert this winter as meningococcal disease is making a comeback across Australia.

❗ Why it’s serious:

It can strike healthy people and become life-threatening in just 24–48 hours.

Even with treatment, about 1 in 10 people don’t survive, and many survivors live with long-term complications.

Worryingly, many young people can’t recognise the symptoms, which makes awareness more important than ever.

👀 Symptoms to watch for (can appear in any order and rash may be absent):

High fever, severe headache, stiff neck

Sensitivity to light, vomiting, confusion

Cold hands and feet, pale or blotchy skin

Extreme tiredness or irritability, especially in babies

👉 Trust your gut — if something feels seriously wrong, don’t wait. Seek medical help immediately.

💡 What this means for Tassie:

Winter = more time indoors, more close contact, and higher risk.

The best protection is awareness, vaccination, and acting quickly.

Talk about it with family and friends — knowing the signs could save a life.

Let’s look out for each other. ❤️

https://champ.ly/-ApH5MFP

Jacob Blackwell was a healthy 23-year-old until meningococcal disease changed everything. As winter sets in, experts are calling for greater awareness of the signs.

27/11/2025

🌍 Vaccine Hero Friday: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the first African Director-General of the World Health Organisation has become a global symbol of fairness and compassion in public health.

A trained scientist and malaria researcher, Dr Tedros led the WHO through the COVID-19 pandemic and fought tirelessly for vaccine equity, reminding the world that “no one is safe until everyone is safe.” His leadership wasn’t just about policy; it was about people. He championed the idea that healthcare shouldn’t depend on your postcode, your income, or your country.

Here in Tasmania, that message rings true. From remote farming towns to our coastal communities, access to vaccination can still come down to geography and that’s exactly what we’re changing. At Tasmania Vaccine Solutions, we share Dr Tedros’s vision: healthcare that reaches everyone, everywhere.

When we bring vaccines directly to workplaces, schools, and regional towns, we’re doing our small part in the same global mission making prevention possible in every postcode.

💉 Global solidarity starts local.

25/11/2025

💬 What It’s Like Competing Against Mainland Companies From Tassie 🌊

Running a small Tasmanian business means you’re often up against the big mainland players, the ones with the huge marketing budgets, national teams, and fancy offices.

They can outspend you. But they can’t out-care you.

Here’s the truth:
When you’re local, you know your people. You drive the same roads, shop at the same stores, and bump into clients at Woolies. You build trust face-to-face, not through a call centre.

Mainland companies can fly in and do their thing, but they fly out again too.
I’m here before the clinic starts, setting up chairs. I’m here after it finishes, chatting with someone’s mum about their vaccine record. That’s what being local means.

It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it because every time a Tasmanian business gets chosen over a mainland one, it keeps money, jobs, and care right here at home.

So here’s to the locals showing up, doing the work, and proving that small, local, and genuine can beat big, distant, and corporate every single day. 💪

23/11/2025

🧠 Myth Busting Monday: Rebuilding Trust in Science 🧱🔬

Science doesn’t always get everything perfect on the first go and that’s actually the point.
Good science isn’t about pretending to know it all: it’s about testing, learning, and improving as new evidence comes in.

During the pandemic, communication wasn’t always clear. There was confusion, mixed messages, and plenty of noise and that left cracks in public trust.
But just like in this image, scientists and healthcare workers have kept building that bridge back:
🧩 Through transparency
🧩 Through listening to community voices
🧩 Through clarity and honesty about what we know and what we’re still learning.

Misinformation loves those gaps it thrives when people feel confused or left out of the conversation. But science doesn’t hide in the dark. It learns, adapts, and tries again.

So next time you hear someone say, “They keep changing their minds,” remember that’s science working exactly as it should.
Updating advice based on new evidence isn’t weakness it’s integrity.

Trust is built brick by brick. And we’re still here, still building, still learning. 💪