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Summary

Commencing March 2023, influenza vaccines can be recorded using either the AIR, the Covid-19 Immunisation Register (CIR) or National Immunisation Register (NIR) to give maximum flexibility to providers.  

Providers will need to determine what system approach best fits their service model. 

Download: Flu 2023 system guidance and decision tree - PDF, 397 KB

Please read through the Flu 2023 system guidance and decision tree to identify which approach is best for you. 

Considerations for using the AIR

  • AIR does not support claiming; you will need to use your current method of making claims. 
  • Immunisations recorded in the AIR & CIR will not be viewable on the NIR, and therefore status queries from PMS systems to NIR will not include vaccinations recorded in the AIR or CIR. 
  • From 1 April 2023, general practices will receive notifications whenever any of their enrolled patients have received a flu vaccination (as captured in the AIR or CIR vaccinator portal), we expect the number of notifications received by general practice to increase because of this.  
  • Providers currently submitting NIR3 forms to record flu vaccinations in the NIR will be asked to use the AIR vaccinator portal instead. 
  • All COVID-19 vaccinations must be recorded in the CIR. 

Using Book My Vaccine (BMV) during the 2023 flu campaign

Book My Vaccine will be used as a booking tool for providers of public health services during the 2023 flu campaign. Consumers will be able to make bookings for both publicly funded COVID-19 and flu.  

  • Providers will need to log into the BMV site to view bookings. Flu bookings will not be viewable in either the CIR or AIR 
  • Bookings that are only for COVID-19 will continue to be viewable in the CIR. Bookings that include requests for both COVID-19 and flu together will not be viewable in CIR.

More information is available on the Book My Vaccine webpage.

How do I sign up to use the AIR?

All organisations and their site(s) must appoint a facility manager, who will be the first person(s) from your organisation to sign up to the AIR.


The facility manager accepts responsibility for the use of the AIR on their site (s), they must ensure they have verified each users’ identity and credentials as part of the employment process before allowing a user to use the AIR at their site(s). 

A facility manager must be in place before other users in your organisation commence signing up.  

When users sign up, they must request access to use AIR at your site, a facility manager will need to be available to approve each users’ request.

More information is available on the sign up to use AIR webpage.

From early February 2023, Maori and Pacific community providers will be prioritised to ensure they are onboarded prior to the 2023 flu season. Throughout the remainder of February 2023, providers that provide influenza vaccination services are invited to commence signing up, these include Occupational Health & Lead Maternity Carers (who vaccinate).  

From November 2022, the Pharmacy sector and Public Health teams providing Mpox consultations have been invited to sign up and continue to do so.  

General Practices who wish to adopt the AIR vaccinator portal should contact air.engagment@health.govt.nz.

Other providers should reach out to the AIR.engagement@health.govt.nz to understand timelines. 

AIR FAQ Update - March 2023

Is there a delay between entering a vaccination on the Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR) and it showing in an individual’s vaccine history in the AIR?

Currently immunisations recorded in the AIR are visible in an individual’s AIR vaccination history straight away. , Immunisations entered in the National Immunisation Register (NIR), or COVID Immunisation Register (CIR) appear in the consumer’s vaccination history on AIR approximately 24 hours after they are recorded. Once the NIR and CIR data is migrated to the AIR and those systems are retired there will be no delay between when a vaccination is recorded in the AIR and when the event is visible on the consumer’s vaccination history in the AIR.  

Will records in the CIR be available to see in the AIR and vice versa?

In the AIR you can see the vaccination history of events recorded in all three immunisation registers (AIR, CIR and NIR). When using the CIR, you will only see events that have been recorded in the CIR, this is because CIR data will be migrated to the AIR later this year.

What ability do users have to edit or amend records?

You can edit vaccinations recorded on the AIR at any time after the event. Within the vaccinator portal you can edit product type, batch details and expiry dates, vaccination details such as route and dose number and the data and time administered. Facility, vaccine type and consent cannot be edited. You cannot make changes to NHI, these are managed through HealthUI, which enables healthcare providers to connect to the National Health Index (NHI) database.

Are payments connected to the AIR?

The AIR does not support payments or claims for vaccinations. Providers should continue to use their current processes which may be: 

  • Those under primary care agreements should continue to submit claims through Proclaim using their PMS or an alternative system. 
  • Pharmacies should continue to submit claims through dispensary software or alternative system.  
  • Additionally, some providers may have a contract in place which requires an invoice submission for a claim. This process also remains unchanged with the introduction of the AIR.  

AIR does not currently support claiming. Providers should continue to use their existing claiming process.

Is the ability to work in the AIR ‘offline’ available now?

This ability is not yet available in the AIR, it will be added in the future. The AIR team are currently looking at options for how this might be achieved. 

When will these vaccines be added to the AIR?

I work as a pharmacist or other vaccine provider and am unable to see all the vaccine types we currently offer, for example HPV, Shingrix and vaccines advised before travel overseas. 

The vaccine types available in the AIR have been prioritised to facilitate the replacement of ImmuniseNow. We will add more vaccine types over time as we build the AIR in a systematic manner, based on highest clinical priority. For example, the 2023 flu vaccines have recently been added. If you do not see the vaccine type that you require, please continue to use your existing methods to record these vaccinations until they are available to record in the AIR.  

Reporting

Starting in late March 2023, flu vaccinations can be recorded using the Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR), the COVID-19 Immunisation Register (CIR) or the National Immunisation Register (NIR) to give maximum flexibility to providers. Please read the relevant systems privacy statement to comply with Health Information Privacy Code and Privacy Act requirements, additionally, the Authorised User Agreement will be updated to reflect these requirements. 

The reporting functionality will be available in both the AIR and the CIR from early April 2023. If you have any questions about AIR or CIR reporting as described below, please contact help@imms.min.health.nz 


Reporting: AIR 

If you choose to use the AIR to record flu vaccinations, you will be able to access a report of the vaccination event detail recorded at the facility (or facilities) that you currently have access to. This report will be available to view and download from the AIR vaccinator portal. The reporting will be available from early April 2023. Instructions on how to access the report will be emailed to all AIR vaccinator portal users in the release communications. Training resources will also be available.  

The report available in the AIR will include vaccination event detail recorded in AIR and CIR if these are recorded at the same facility. The report will show the source system for each event. 

Please note: If you choose to access this report, you must complete the relevant training. Additionally, you must ensure that you understand that the AIR privacy statement applies to how this data is used.  

AIR privacy statement 

Reporting: CIR 

If you choose to use the CIR to record flu vaccinations, you will be able to request access to a report of the vaccination event detail recorded at each facility that you currently have access to. A request to create a report must be submitted to help@imms.min.health.nz. Once the report is created, it will only be available to those granted access to view and download from the CIR reports folder. Training resources will also be available.   

The reports available on CIR only include the vaccination event detail recorded in CIR.