Preventing infectious diseases through immunisation

Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health is committed to encouraging immunisation amongst New Zealanders. Our main focuses are promoting the benefits of vaccination programmes and certifying the vaccinators who provide this valuable service.

Some reasons why vaccination is important

Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health is an advocate for vaccination programmes because immunisation uses the body’s immune system to build resistance to serious diseases.

An immunised individual helps protect vulnerable people in the community by decreasing the possibility of a disease spreading. These vulnerable people are infants, the elderly and those with impaired immune systems. This protective effect only occurs if enough people are vaccinated and is called ‘herd immunity’.

New Zealand has a low child immunisation rate compared with other countries. This results in regular outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Te Whatu Ora aims to increase vaccination rates so that 95 percent of children are fully immunised by two years of age. This is for all vaccines as listed on the National Immunisation Schedule.

• View informative videos on vaccine-preventable diseases (Immunisation Advisory Centre).
• Download or order immunisation resources from the Community Health Information Centre.
• Find out about vaccines available in New Zealand, such as Bexsero, Boostrix, Shingrix and Zostavax (Immunisation Advisory Centre).
• View a list of South Island Immunisation Coordinators (Immunisation Advisory Centre).

Tracking vaccination with the Aotearoa Immunisation Register

New Zealanders can receive vaccinations from a range of health providers over their lifetime. The Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR) was launched in late 2023 and is designed to:

• provide an accurate understanding of population immunisation coverage rates. This means programmes can be planned better to support populations with the lowest immunisation rates;
• reduce digital barriers and support the health sector to deliver better immunisation services; and
• give New Zealanders a way to record and track immunisations they have received and are entitled to.

AIR replaced the old National Immunisation Register (NIR) and COVID Immunisation Register (CIR).

• Find out more about the Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR).
• Find out what vaccines are on the National Immunisation Schedule in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Documents

• Immunisation Handbook 2024 – Version 5 (Ministry of Health).
• Initial Priorities for the National Immunisation Programme in Aotearoa (Te Whatu Ora 2023).
• Evaluation of the Māori Influenza and Measles Vaccination Programme: In Pursuit of Māori Health Equity (Ministry of Health 2022).
• Evidence of suboptimal maternal vaccination coverage in pregnant New Zealand women and increasing inequity over time: A nationwide retrospective cohort study (Vaccine 2022).
• Tips for overcoming needle phobia (Mental Health Foundation 2022).
• Group A Streptococcus and acute rheumatic fever in Aotearoa New Zealand: A summary of current knowledge in Aotearoa New Zealand (Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor 2021).

• Māori Māmā views and experiences of vaccinating their pēpi and tamariki: A qualitative Kaupapa Māori study (Health Promotion Agency 2021).
• Addendum to National Standards for Vaccine Storage and Transportation Providers 2017: 2nd edition (Ministry of Health 2021).
• More Than Just a Jab: Evaluation of the Māori Influenza Vaccination Programme as part of the COVID-19 Māori Health Response (Ministry of Health 2021).
• Influenza vaccine supply chain report (Ministry of Health 2020).
• National Standards for Vaccine Storage and Transportation for Immunisation Providers 2017: 2nd edition (Ministry of Health 2019).
• Improving New Zealand’s childhood immunisation rates (Allen and Clarke 2019).
• Evaluation of the Implementation of the Varicella Vaccine Introduction (Allen and Clarke 2018).

Downloads

Download or order resources from the Community Health Information Centre.

• Set your tamariki up for a healthy future.
• Protect against most types of cancers caused by HPV – available in multiple languages.
• Immunisation for older people – also available in multiple languages and large print.
• Protecting you and your pēpi starts during pregnancy – available to download in multiple languages.
• BCG Vaccine: Information for parents – available in multiple languages.

Links

• Immunisation (Health New Zealand).
• Immunisation Advisory Centre (IMAC).

The HPV vaccine is safe, long-lasting and it’s FREE

HPV is a common virus that can cause 6 types of cancer – in the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and mouth/throat.

HPV vaccination can provide long-term protection for tamariki from HPV cancers.

The FREE vaccine is offered through most schools in Year 8. This is the best age to get it. If tamariki miss getting the HPV vaccine at school, they can still get it free at their medical centre.

Teens and young adults who didn’t have the HPV vaccine in Year 8 also need to be vaccinated. It’s free through their medical centre or family planning clinic up until their 27th birthday.