Immunisation
Childhood Immunisation Schedule:New Zealand has a National Immunisation Schedule that protects both children and adults in the community from vaccine preventable diseases, including whooping cough, tetanus, polio and more. Schedule vaccines are free for all New Zealand children under 16 years of age. Immunisations are available from your General Practice (Practice Nurse) and rural nurse clinics. The National Immunisation Register (NIR) records all vaccinations given during the child's lifetime, to help parents and health professionals ensure the child is up to date with their immunisations. The NIR will also help to assess the risk of epidemics and also measure the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. Southern DHB also has an Outreach Immunisation Team to assist primary health care providers, Well Child providers and immunisation coordinators by following up on families who have children that have missed immunisation doses and fallen behind the national schedule. Children need to receive all the doses of vaccines on the National Immunisation Schedule to be fully protected against all eleven diseases we immunise against. You can contact the Outreach Immunisation Team for more information on +64 3 214 8260. Neonatal Immunisations (which may be given at birth):Babies of mothers who are hepatitis B carriers will be offered free hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B immunoglobulin to prevent infection with the virus, and risk of becoming carriers. Immunisation will be completed at birth, or as soon as possible after (preferably within 12 hours). Babies will then receive the usual immunisations at six weeks, and at three and five months of age. Babies who are at risk of tuberculosis (TB) will be offered free BCG (bacillus Calmette-Guerin) immunisation. The lead maternity caregiver will discuss this issue with the mother prior to the baby's birth, and the BCG immunisation my be given while the baby is in hospital or later at a community clinic. Cervical Cancer Vaccine (Girls and Young Women):
Influenza Immunisation (All People, All Ages):
The vaccine is free for some groups of people. Usually the free immunisation focuses on those over 65 years of age, however this year more people have been identified as being at risk of developing serious complications. This is because the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic strain is most likely to be the predominant strain of influenza in 2010. At risk groups include pregnant woman, those people aged under 65 years of age with underlying chronic illness, children under 5 and those with Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 35. Therefore eligibility for the free immunisation has been extended to these groups for 2010, as well as those aged over 65. Influenza immunisation is available FREE for those who:
Everyone else can access the vaccine for a small charge at their General Practice. For more information about influenza and the influenza vaccine, please visit the Immunisation Advisory Centre Influenza website or call 0800 IMMUNE (0800 466 863) or call your local General Practice. Further Immunisation Information:
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