Te Kura o Otangarei MMR coverage 97 percent

Te Kura o Otangarei have achieved an outstanding 97 percent MMR immunisation coverage rate.

“The Te Kura o Otangarei whānau have done a fantastic job of protecting their tamariki and community by achieving a very high rate of immunisation coverage for measles. It is great to see such strong leadership in response to the high numbers of measles cases occurring across Northland,” said Northland DHB medical officer of health Dr Catherine Jackson.

“The last two waves of measles cases in Northland during September and November have been largely due to measles exposures in school settings with a number of schools impacted across the region.”

The school and Northland DHB Public Health Nurses worked closely to ensure their students, and eligible staff were vaccinated to protect themselves, their whānau and the wider community.

Dr Jackson says this is a great example of the Public Health Nurses, Schools and whānau working together to ensure their tamariki are protected.

“By protecting our tamariki, we are also protecting our whakapapa.”

Te Kura o Otangarei Principal, Myles Ferris says he is proud of the work that they have done alongside the Public Health team to get to this point.

"We are focussed on not only protecting our students but more importantly those who are most vulnerable to this horrible disease. With what we have seen in Samoa it is clear that we need to do more to protect others. There are people in our community who are unable to be immunised and we want them to be safe too."

The School join Hora Hora School in taking this approach to ensuring their tamariki are protected. Hora Hora school achieved 96 percent MMR coverage after working closely with the public health team earlier in the year.

Northland DHB welcome the opportunity to work closely with all schools and their communities across Northland to improve immunisation opportunities for children who may have missed out.

Measles is a vaccine preventable disease. The recent Measles outbreak in Auckland has seen 117 confirmed cases in Northland for the year to date.

“If a case of measles is confirmed at a school, unimmunised children and staff are advised to stay home for up to two weeks to stop the spread of measles. We have are very appreciative of staff and whānau following this advice and acknowledge how disruptive this can be particularly during exam time,” Dr Jackson emphasised.

Measles is a vaccine preventable disease. There are now 117 confirmed cases of measles in Northland, with two cases under investigation. There have been 44 cases in the Far North, 15 cases in the Kaipara and 58 cases in the Whangarei area. Children and young people aged between 1 and 24 have been the most affected by this preventable disease.

Please make sure your pēpi are immunised against measles. Immunisation provides the best possible protection against diseases such measles, both for children and the people in contact with them.

FREE drop-in clinic for children and adults under 30 years of age. Note – the Kaitaia clinic is now closed and Whangarei is one day a week - you can call 0800 466 738 to find out how we can help you get immunised.

• Whangarei Child Wellbeing Hub - 22b Commerce Street (near Plunket) - Thursdays - 8.30am until 4pm.

Immunisation Priorities

1. Scheduled immunisations at 15 months and 4 years
2. One dose of MMR for those aged <30 years who have not had a previous dose
3. People aged 30-50 years based on clinical judgement e.g. they are immunocompromised, live with someone who is unable to be immunised, are frontline healthcare staff or a teacher at an Early Childhood Centre, primary or secondary school.

Visit your GP, a community clinic in Whangarei or call 0800 466 738 if you need immunisation but do not live near available clinics or are unable to access one.

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