Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti has praised hauora Māori providers for continuing to lift delivery of life-saving immunisations across all ages and all populations.
“In the first 10 months of the Immunising our Tamariki programme, hauora Māori providers have now delivered more than 69,000 vaccinations across all population groups, making our children and communities safer,” says Dr Reti.
“In October alone the programme funded more than 5,600 vaccinations including scheduled childhood vaccinations, and vaccinations for influenza, COVID-19 and for pregnant women.
“That’s a 5.5 per cent increase on their September figures. I’m incredibly proud of the work going on to ensure frontline delivery of services.
“Significantly, in the face of the whooping cough outbreak declared last week, 53 per cent of these vaccinations in October were for children under 24 months – those most at risk of serious diseases like pertussis and measles.
“After years of declining immunisation rates, it’s more important than ever that we drive targets to ensure our youngsters are protected.
“When we launched this programme in December 2023, I committed to investing $50m over two years to help key providers lift immunisation rates by connecting with their communities and building trust.
“Almost a year on, I’m delighted to see that thousands more young children are immunised and protected against diseases as a result, but there are still many other whānau we need to reach.
“Protecting pēpi and tamariki from preventable diseases through immunisation is one of the best ways to set up them up for a healthy future.
“It’s exactly why the Government is investing in making it easier to get kids immunised through well-child tamariki ora services, community pharmacies and outreach programmes led by hauora Māori providers, and also recently bringing on Plunket as vaccinators.
“In October, about 76 per cent of the vaccinations funded through this specific programme have been delivered to Māori and/or Pacific Peoples, but all New Zealanders are serviced by these providers.
“I know that working through the mid-winter period will have challenging for immunisation teams but these sort of initiatives do make a difference
“We know it will take a collective effort to reach our Government target of 95 per cent of children being fully immunised at 24 months of age.
“It’s an absolute priority for me,” says Dr Reti.
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Diego Roberie
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