A supply of the vaccine that protects babies from life-threatening complications associated with severe forms of tuberculosis is available for the first time in more than two years.
A worldwide shortage of the Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccine, caused by delays at the manufacturing facility, meant it had not been available in New Zealand since early 2016.
Pharmac director of operations Lisa Williams said 35,000 doses of the vaccine had recently arrived and had been distributed throughout the country.
Children under 5 were eligible for the vaccine if they lived in a household or with whanau where anyone had a current or past history of Tb, or lived in a country where Tb was common within the last five years.
