Waitemata DHB Achieves Immunisation Health Target

MEDIA RELEASE
06 July 2012

Waitemata DHB Achieves Immunisation Health Target

Waitemata DHB has reached another historic milestone, with 95% of all two-year-olds in the district now fully immunised.

The achievement means the DHB has now attained the immunisation national health target set down by the Ministry of Health, making Waitemata one of the first large DHBs in the country to reach the target.

Chief executive Dr Dale Bramley, a public health physician, says it is a tremendous achievement for the DHB.

“We know from our data that around 4% to 5% of people in our community prefer not to be immunised, so in achieving the 95% mark, we’ve actually reached nearly every single child in our district.”

Equity between the district’s Maori population and the overall population was also achieved in the last quarter (January to March 2012).

“This could not have been possible without the support of the primary care sector, in particular the work of our district’s two PHOs, ProCare and Waitemata,” says Dr Bramley.

The World Health Organisation regards immunisation as a proven way of controlling and eliminating life-threatening infectious diseases, estimating that it prevents between two and three million deaths worldwide each year. In countries where immunisation coverage is very high, diseases can be controlled or eliminated from the population.

Dr Bramley says while most of the diseases in the immunisation register are now less common in New Zealand, it can still flare up from time to time.

“We saw this last year with the measles outbreak across the Auckland region, and this year, it is whooping cough, with the number of cases in the region five times the level reported in January to May last year.”

To get your child immunised, simply inquire at your local GP practice. To find out more about immunisation, contact the Immunisation Advisory Centre on 0800 466 863 or www.immune.org.nz.

ENDS

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