NZ 'not too flash' in immunisation report

The Press
Last updated 22:02 25/01/2009

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Kiwi babies are among the least vaccinated in the developed world, a new international report reveals.

The Unicef report, the State of the World's Children, showed New Zealand was on a par or ahead of the world on several counts for child wellbeing, including infant mortality, but it exposed the nation's low ranking for immunisations.

Of the six immunisations for one-year-old babies, New Zealand was well below the developed world average for four of them. It equalled the others.

In the worst example, only 79 per cent of one-year-olds had received immunisation against measles. In the developed world, 98 per cent had received it by that age and in the least developed countries, 76 per cent had received it.

"We're pretty low. We're 33 out of 35 developed countries," Immunisation Advisory Centre research director Helen Petousis-Harris said.

"And certainly, compared with a lot of the developing countries which have mass campaigns, we don't come up too flash."

An Auckland University study showed poverty was a major factor where immunisation rates were low.

Misinformation about immunisation was "alive and well in New Zealand" and also played a part in the low rates, Petousis-Harris said.

The country's Third World rates of immunisation against measles were "too low to prevent ongoing epidemics", the Ministry of Health said. It has pinned some of the blame on more families with two working parents not having the time to immunise their babies.

The chief adviser on child and youth health for the Ministry of Health, Dr Pat Tuohy, said the Unicef figures were "substantially correct".

"The current coverage rate for measles is too low to prevent ongoing epidemics," Tuohy said.

Publicity suggesting, incorrectly, that the measles vaccination caused autism had hit the rates of immunisation.

"We are aware that some barriers remain even though immunisation is free," Tuohy said.

"For example, in the situation where both parents are working, they can find it difficult to get their children immunised because their only free time to do so is after-hours or on Saturday mornings."

Since the Government made improving immunisation coverage one of 10 health targets in July 2007, there had been a "dramatic" 9 per cent increase in immunisation rates, Tuohy said.

However, Petousis-Harris said the Government was still a long way off its aim of having 95 per cent of babies fully immunised by age two.

"We just haven't got there. We've got a lot of things that we need to be working on to do better," she said.

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"Immunisations generally don't go to people, people have to go to the immunisations."

Whooping cough (pertussis), a disease particularly severe on small babies, was on the rise because of the poor rates of immunisation.

"There's a lot of hospitalisations and we have one death a year from that disease," Petousis-Harris said.

The Unicef report showed New Zealand lagging the developed world (98 per cent) by 7 percentage points for rates of immunisation against pertussis.

The improvement in New Zealand's under-five child mortality rates from 21 per cent in 1970 to 11 per cent in 1990 to 6 per cent in 2007 fell almost perfectly in line with the developed world.

A child mortality rate of 6 per cent put the country on a par with Britain, Australia and Canada but behind Israel, the Netherlands, France and Germany.

The mortality rate for under-one-year-olds had also fallen from 9 per cent in 1990 to 5 per cent in 2007.

69 comments
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julie   #69   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Vaccines are made from: mucus of infected children (whooping cough), excrement from typhoid victims (typhoid), belly-scabs and pus from festering wounds on calves (smallpox) and until recently the diseased kidneys of monkeys (polio). Im sick of being made to feel stupid or uneducated by not vaccinating my daughter but statistics in doctors own journals speak for themselves considering most of the people who say no to immunisations have a minimum of a bachelors degree. I find it sickening that the government is even contemplating making immunisations compulsary for children to attend state school in NZ!!!

Dr   #68   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I trust all those who are firmly against immunisation due to the inherent risk are also against putting their childrren in seatbelts or child restraints. After all wearing a seatbelt puts you at risk from injuries to your spleen, liver, mesentery, aorta and so forth in an accident.

Seatbelts are clearly another PR exercise run by those out to make money from making seatbelt wearing compulsory, like car manufacturers.

And don't even get me started on airbags! Many reports have shown that children can be killed from airbags being deployed and even adults can be seriously injured!

Stop this blatant profiteering on things that may cause harm to you or your baby, have an open mind people!

Maybe you could take the natural route and place a feather pillow in front of you if you crash. Or the homeopathic route and carry a bottle of Crash-B-Gone in your car.

Do some research people, make sure you don't wear a seat belt or make your child wear one and make sure you airbag is deactivated!

You'll be doing all of us a favour.

not brainwashed.   #67   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

How can non vaccinated (especially those that ACTIVELY refuse) be a threat to the vaccinated population, if vaccines protect? lol. -disease is around all the time and within highly vaccinated populations. Just give the symptoms another label and the disease has gone! Magic! example: non vaccinated= deadly measles. vaccinated= a viral infection.

If there is a benefit for vaccinated, then they alone will get such, but there is nothing out there that proves such, especially when compareing vaccinated with the healthy non-vaccinated.

vaccinated are a threat to themselves and it is way past time they wake up! We all shouldn't have to be sprayed with such toxic stuff just to please those that fear disease in the first place, yet dump their kids in kindys and such other places when disease is around. If you really fear such go and live in a box. When kindys get a disease within them, and everyone is vaccinated, everyone is happy spreading and contracting such diseases and it is not an issue, but the movement one walks in, not vaccinated it becomes a scene!. Little don't they realise most vaccinated wouldn't be immune anyway. A vaccine will not stop one from getting or spreading disease.

Grant   #66   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Clarification: By 'this "movement"' in my earlier post (Grant ??? 00:26 AM | Tuesday , 27 January 2009), I am referring to the "anti-vaccine movement". I would hope that this is clear from the remainder of my comment in any event. (What I get for commenting in the wee hours!)

John Aitken   #65   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

People in this post describing themselves as "researchers" should take the trouble to read Richard Feynman's talk on "cargo cult science" (google) before labelling themselves as researchers, which they emphatically are not. My concern is more simple :If the results are so appalling, what the Hell is the Govt doing funding the Immunisation Advisory Centre? If my business performed as badly as that group of shiny bums I would out of a job in a month!

GrammaKnows   #64   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Well! since the immunization rate in the US so much higher, and their INFANT MORTALITY rate for the same period is higher as well - this is an interesting report!

For the same time period, the US Infant Mortality rate is estimated at 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births with the rates for males higher than females. male: 6.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.62 deaths/1,000 live births

Must be healthier to live unvaccinated in New Zealand than to be vaccinated in the US!

JD   #63   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

395,000 children under the age of 5 die of measles each year worldwide. Another 257,000 newborn babies die each year from tetanus, because their mothers aren't immunised. That is one child dying every TWENTY seconds from diseases that are completely preventable with vaccinations. When people like posters 1-5 are presented with these FACTS, they often say things like: "well that is in other countries, we don't have to worry about that in New Zealand". The answer to that is the only reason why thousands of children aren't dying each year from measles in New Zealand is down to the thousands of sensible parents who DO immunise their children and hold the herd immunity level just above where it needs to be to prevent a catastrophe. Parents who don't immunise their children for whatever ridiculous conspiracy theory they come up with, should at least have the common decency to show gratitude to those that do and thus prevent their unimmunised child from contracting a potentially fatal disease.

Erwin Alber   #62   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I hope that parents who read your comment take notice. If they realised that vaccination is an organised criminal enterprise, they would never hand over their babies or their children to get them injected with this assorted toxic filth. Vaccines have never prevented any diseases, let alone saved any lives. Google the infectious diseases graphs on 'Health sentinel' if you don't believe it. I also recommend the 5-part youtube series 'Vaccination: Miracle or Mayhem?'and the youtube video 'Creating a nation of zombies', which features US neurosurgeon and health educator Dr. Russell Blaylock MD.

Hamish   #61   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

As the great Dr G House MD said, when replying to a patient that didnt want to support the 'greedy' or 'immoral' pharmaceutical industry by vaccinating, would she rather have supported that industry or the one that makes those tiny wee baby coffins. I know when I become a parent, which industry ill chose. The one that can provide a service I want.

Kerry, you are greatly misfounded in ur views that immunisations only prevent viruses. What about H influenza, pneumococcus etc. All bacteria.

It is a shame that people cant see the problems that lack of immunisations still plague the world with. People unable to walk because of polio, getting ruptured eyes because of Measles combined with low levels of Vit A, kids suffocating because of Haemophilis causing epiglottitis. Not something id wish on my kids in a rush guys. I think I can handle a wee anaphylactic reaction or a sore shoulder.

About that TB debate, BCG has been shown to be rubbish, hence why it is not part of our immunisation schedule, despite rapidly rising rates of TB in NZ. If you would believe all of the above comments, Doctors and big Pharma are jst out to get your money so why isnt BCG still being offered too? Ah, because its a thing called ethical principles which Doctors are legally obliged to follow. You know? Do whats best for the patient and so on?

Jim   #60   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I hope the above people who posted their comments realise what they are doing. they are spreading the type of misinformation that the UNICEF and many other agencies are trying to correct. The MMR scandal in the UK was the result of bad science mixed with a personal agenda and has had huge repercussions.In the future when herd immunity fails to protect children from measels etc I hope these people realise that they are responsible for the deaths that will result.


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