Pharmac considers extension to free vaccination programme
By Victor Waters of RNZ
Pharmac says it's exploring ways to extend a free meningoccocal B vaccine programme, with an estimated 100,000 eligible pre-schoolers still not protected.
Meningitis prevention advocates have pressured health officials to continue the campaign, which is due to end on August 31.
Pharmac pharmaceuticals director Geraldine MacGibbon said Pharmac funds the meningococcal B vaccine for all children under the age of one.
"In March 2023, Pharmac funded a catch-up programme for children under the age of five to better protect young New Zealanders from meningococcal B.
"We understand that people are keen to see the catch-up period extended and we are actively exploring options for this."
"We will keep interested groups, including the Meningitis Foundation, informed about any updates," MacGibbon said.
According to the Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand, meningococcal bacteria can cause meningococcal meningitis - inflammation of the meninges, the membrane lining of the brain and spinal cord - and/or septicaemia (blood poisoning).
Foundation chair Gerard Rushton said the meningococcal B vaccination programme was initiated after a submission the foundation made to Parliament and an application to Pharmac.
He said more than 400,000 doses were given out in the first 12 months of the campaign.
"We're calling on Health New Zealand and the government to actually continue this programme, because we know it works. We know it will save lives.
"We know it's going to take pressure off the already-stretched health system.
"What we're saying is this campaign has been very successful and it's been proven that people want it, but there's still 100,000 of our tamariki that haven't been protected, so we're calling them to keep this programme going.
"We're really concerned that this large sector of our community are going to miss out. The vaccination rates for our young are still far too low, but we need them to extend this programme, because we need to protect those 100,000 of our children who are still unvaccinated."
A Health New Zealand spokesperson said it was are "responsible for the implementation of the programme".
"Pharmac funds the meningococcal B catch-up programme and set the timeframe from 1 March 2023 to 31 August 2025."
A Health New Zealand spokesperson said, as of 9 June 2025, 84 percent of eligible children under 15 months had at least one dose of the meningococcal B vaccine.
"Whānau can access the meningococcal B vaccines from a range of places, including general practice, hauora Māori and Pacific providers, with many Wellchild Tamariki Ora Services, including Whānau Āwhina Plunket, offering immunisations.
"There are also more than 122 pharmacies now offering the vaccine for children aged from three years.
"The meningococcal B vaccination is a part of the national immunisation schedule.
"As a part of the Government's Health Target, we are focused on lifting childhood immunisation rates and we are making good progress towards this goal," said the spokesperson.
Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand chair Gerard Rushton said his organisation didn't see a reason for the catch-up programme to be discontinued.
"Māori and Pasifika are 4-5 times more likely to catch meningitis than the European population, so they are a higher risk at the moment. We struggle to understand why there's a vaccination programme at the moment that actually discriminates against them.
"The full vaccination programme was that the babies are free, there was a catch-up programme for 13-month to 5-year-olds, and that first-year students in boarding schools, halls of residence, barracks or prisons could get it free."
"We feel that discriminates against the biggest at-risk group we've got, which is our Māori and Pasifika, because they're under-represented at halls of residence and boarding schools," he said.
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