New funding welcomed as part of the package of measures to increase immunisation uptake

General Practice New Zealand (GPNZ) welcomes the confirmation from Dr Nick Chamberlain, National Director – National Public Health Service, of additional funding to support pre-call and recall activities for the 6-week scheduled immunisations.

General practice remains the preferred place to receive childhood immunisations due to the importance of the 6-week pepi and maternal medical checks, the increasing need to address hesitancy, misinformation and concerns, and to facilitate newborn enrolment. This funding package supports the vital pre-call and recall activity that is uniquely provided by general practice, contributing to the timely delivery of childhood immunisations.

Funding, while important, is not the only activity required to keep our communities equitably protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. There are a lot of factors that must change in order to lift our current rates up to the target of 95 per cent.

The GPNZ immunisation working group continues to work closely with Te Whatu Ora Commissioning the and National Public Health Service on a broad range of initiatives to increase immunisation rates, flowing from the immunisation taskforce report. We regularly use our member rōpū to engage the sector across topics such as workforce, easy access, appropriate funding, addressing hesitancy and misinformation as we help to shape a wide package of measures for this vital protection for whānau.