Latest additions to vaccination access for flu and COVID-19

Kia ora koutou,

Mānawatia a Matariki!

This is a quick update on the latest additions to vaccination access for flu and COVID-19:

• Free flu vaccine is extended to cover 3-12 year olds; and also those with serious mental health and addiction needs
• Second booster vaccination is available without prescription to those at risk of severe illness.

Find more detail below. We will update our information as quickly as we can.

All the best for your hard mahi!
Immunisation Advisory Centre team

Free flu vaccinations now include 3-12y and more

From 1 July free flu vaccinations will be extended to:

• Children aged 3-12 years
• People with serious mental health or addiction needs.

Free flu shots are already available for a large group of people including:

• pregnant people
• over 65s
• Māori or Pasifika aged 55+
• long list of underlying health conditions

Don't forget that as long as people are not sick, you can give COVID-19 vaccination to those eligible at the same time.

Second COVID-19 boosters

Second boosters for those at risk of severe illness from COVID-19

• A second booster is recommended for those at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 – a minimum of 6 months after a first booster.
• For those who are not considered at risk of severe illness from COVID-19, a two-dose primary course and a booster dose provides very good protection against severe illness from COVID-19.

The following people are recommended to receive a second booster as a priority:

• people aged 65 years and over
• Māori and Pacific peoples aged 50 years and over
• residents of aged care and disability care facilities
• severely immunocompromised people who received a three-dose primary course and a fourth dose as a first booster (noting this would be a fifth dose for these people)
• people aged 16 years and over who have a medical condition that increases the risk of severe breakthrough COVID-19 illness and
• people aged 16 years and over who live with disability with significant or complex health needs or multiple comorbidities.

In addition, a second booster is available for:

• all people aged over 50 years
• health, aged care and disability workers aged over 30 years.

These groups can book an appointment for a booster dose through Book My Vaccine from Tuesday 28 June.