Plunket Otago clinical leader Marlene Du Toit-Parks said the vaccination pilot programme was in response to an Immunisation Task Force report which identified a decline in the number of children being vaccinated in certain areas of New Zealand.
Plunket was doing vaccinations at various sites around the country, including the new Plunket premises in King Edward St.
The pilot is partly funded by Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora and will run until mid-2026.
She said vaccinations were the domain of Plunket in the past, but more recently, families had gone to their GPs to get them.
The move to bring Plunket back into vaccinating was logical because the organisation was already working with young families across the country, she said.
"It’s the connection that the Plunket staff already have with the families.
"I think we sit in a beautiful position where we already have trusted relationships with thousands of whānau and the parents, the babies, the children.
"And we’re very lucky to have such a beautiful site that they can come into, which is very child-friendly."
She said four nurses had been trained to give vaccinations at Plunket in South Dunedin and the clinic was just one of 24 sites in low vaccination areas across the country which were now offering the jab.
"So we’re starting with a base here, and then we’re hoping to roll it out as time goes, to other clinic spaces.
"We want it to be mobile, so we can meet whānau in other clinics — for example, we have lovely clinics in Mosgiel, Balclutha, Waikouaiti and potentially we can go as far as Oamaru."
The pilot aims to increase the level of vaccination nationwide.
