A North Auckland GP says Pharmac's proposal to fund free flu vaccines for children under six will help keep them out of hospital.
Pharmac has proposed widening access criteria to funded flu shots to children aged six months to five years, which would take effect from next year, if approved.
Currently, the flu vaccine is funded for people aged 65 years and over, and for people under 65 with certain health conditions that put them at higher risk of serious illness.
Children under 4 qualify if they had been hospitalised for respiratory illness or had a history of significant respiratory illness, and those over six months old qualified by having a long-term medical condition like diabetes, asthma, or a heart condition.
The old vaccine brand would be replaced by two new vaccines, and remain funded for those groups, too.
North Auckland GP Dr Tim Malloy said protecting young children with flu jabs as we do the elderly would be "significant step forward" and an "excellent improvement".
He explained that immunising young children is important as they are more likely to become seriously unwell if infected with influenza, which is untreatable and can lead to complications - especially in young kids.
Immunisation offers the potential reduce harm from a viral infection - if not prevent it completely, Dr Malloy adds it seems "pointless" to spend time treating illnesses and their complications when they could be prevented altogether.
"If we have an option we should take it," he insisted.
In fact, he would like Pharmac to go further with immunisations, He said immunisation rates have struggled to recover after plummeting during Covid at the height of the mis- and disinformation surrounding vaccines.
Lower immunisation rates can lead illnesses of yesteryear to reappear. He pointed to Australia's diphtheria outbreak as an example, where more than 200 cases have been reported this year.
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz |  |
