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The national immunization agency says that parents are sometimes afraid to vaccinate their children based on anecdotes and mistrust.
Northland DHB is rolling out a free emergency vaccination campaign for young children and adolescents against the meningococcal strain W.
Photo: 123RF
The Northland District Health Board is appealing to parents opposed to vaccination to reconsider their views after three deaths in the region due to a new strain of meningococcal disease.
DHB is rolling out a free emergency vaccination campaign against the disease starting next week. Free vaccinations will be offered to persons between the ages of nine months to four years inclusive and to people aged 13 to 19 inclusive.
Dr. Nikki Turner, Director of the Immunization Advisory Center, stated Morning report It is questionable whether the vaccination program should have started a few weeks ago.
But the commission did well to have access to the vaccine, which is lacking internationally, she said.
Dr. Nikki Turner
Photo: PROVIDED
Dr. Turner stated that parents were neither stupid nor anti-vaccination, but that some had real fears that needed to be recognized and addressed.
"Some people do not trust the advice of the health authorities, so my question is why are we afraid of health authorities, do not we think that they offer the best scientific advice possible, at the international level and local?
"And what happens if there are groups of people who simply do not trust what we consider to be the best health advice we have most up to date?"
Sometimes people worry about issues such as needles or are considered negative anecdotal information about vaccinations, which could be fearful, she said.
"It's not that people are stupid or anti-vaccination, but they often worry that we do not recognize them and that we do not take them properly."
Vaccination no "silver bullet"
Nationally, the number of invasive meningococcal disease cases remains low, but has been increasing since 2014.
There were 10 deaths this year, six of them due to the meningococcal strain W.
Dr. Turner said they should consider listing the national vaccination schedule against the W strain of the disease if the vaccination rate continues to grow nationwide.
She added that national rates were currently lower than Northland rates.
"The question is, when is it useful to introduce a vaccine at the national level? Vaccines do not solve everything, they do not last a lifetime … there is no vaccine which covers all types, it will not protect all the inhabitants of our community, we will see dead again. "
Vaccination should not be seen as a quick fix in the treatment of the disease and there is no simple solution to the disease, she said.
Meningococcal disease would still cause death, especially in young children and those with weakened immune systems who were more vulnerable, she said.
According to the latest report on meningococcal disease of the ESR, 102 cases were recorded this year, representing a steady increase since 2014, when 45 cases were reported.
Last year, there were 94 cases of meningitis and eight deaths.
This year, cases of the disease have been reported in all but two District Health Boards.
Northland has the highest rate, followed by Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Southern DHB.
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