Supermarket vouchers part of push to turn around dire child immunisation stats

Supermarket vouchers are at the centre of a new health programme hoped to tackle low child immunisation rates for measles, mumps and rubella.

But the clinical director of the organisation behind it said turning around the poor statistics in areas like south Auckland will be a challenge.

ProCare funds almost 50 per cent of the primary healthcare providers in Auckland and is behind the vouchers initiative.

Children need two doses of the MMR vaccine to be fully protected against measles, mumps and rubella. The vaccinations are free and the first dose is usually at 12 months, followed by a second at 15 months of age. The Ministry of Health aims for 95% of children to be fully vaccinated at eight months, 24 months and five years of age.

But figures from the Ministry of Health, covering the period between July 1 and September 30 last year, showed just 65% of children in Counties Manukau were fully vaccinated at six months old.

ProCare clinical director Dr Allan Moffitt said there's a risk of an epidemic and something needs to be done.

“The current immunisation rates are far too low and if we had another outbreak of measles right now we would have an epidemic,” Moffitt said. “It is dangerous and it does kill people.”

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Dr Nikki Turner is the medical director of the University of Auckland's Immunisation Advisory Centre.

In January she said vaccination rates in areas like south Auckland were in a state of crisis as healthcare providers were stuck in a post-Covid-19 catch-up phase.

She said during the pandemic health systems around the world had been dealing with one crisis after another and as a result preventative health measures like child immunisation had suffered.

Turner welcomed ProCare’s new scheme to improve child vaccination rates.

“I think overall it’s very positive,” she said.

Turner said while health providers need to be careful how they use incentives like vouchers, she thought in the case of vaccinations, it was a legitimate option.

“We have to be careful how we get families through the door, but this is supporting those families that are struggling.”

She said the fact the scheme involves providers who were on the frontline during the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out, is key.

“What we need is providers that have a close relationship with their communities, so that’s great,” Turner said.

“This is supporting communities to respond and it is local service providers working with local communities.”

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