Kollin Hilihetule getting vaccinated at a pop-up clinic in Manukau Photo: RNZ/Jessica Hopkins
Vaccinator Chris Leung says pop-up vaccination centres have been a great tool for boosting immunisation rates, amid the current measles outbreak, which has experts concerned.
In a day and a bit, vaccinators at a pop-up at Manukau SuperClinic in Auckland had spoken to roughly 80 people about measles.
"We actually don't call this an immunisation space," Leung told RNZ at the Manukau clinic.
"It's more of a kōrero space for immunisation because you have to immunise the mind before you immunise the body."
Vaccinators (L-R) Catherine Roscoe, Sita Moala Counties, and Chris Leung Photo: RNZ/Jessica Hopkins
Vaccination efforts have ramped up as part of a nationwide Measles Immunisation Week campaign.
There are now 17 known cases of the highly infectious disease. According to Health New Zealand, 12 of the 17 reported cases were no longer infectious.
Auckland and Wellington have the highest case numbers, with thousands of students exposed across three high schools.
Leung said many people they had spoken to were unsure whether they had been immunised and did not know that it was safe to get an extra dose even if they had been.
Many of those unsure about getting vaccinated also did not know how serious measles is.
"A lot of them don't know a lot about what measles is. We have to let them know that it's about eight times more contagious than COVID," Leung said.
"One person can spread it to up to 18 people."
He said they had administered 20 vaccines at the pop-up, not just for measles, but other vaccinations people were missing, including for Tetanus and Rubella.
Vacinator Sita Moala preparing a measles vaccine dose Photo: RNZ/Jessica Hopkins
He encouraged people to visit a vaccination clinic or book an appointment with their GP or local pharmacy to check if they were missing any vaccinations.
Kollin Hilihetule came to the clinic in Manukau to check if there was a documented record of him getting the measles vaccines.
He ended up getting a booster dose and felt relieved to know that he and his whānau are protected.
Kollin Hilihetule getting vaccinated at a pop-up clinic in Manukau Photo: RNZ/Jessica Hopkins
"I talked to my wife before I did it. We talk about everything, including vaccines," Hilihetule said.
"Having kids, I have a five month old and a five-year-old, I think it's important."
Health NZ National Clinical Director of Immunisation and Prevention, Dr Christine McIntosh, urged people to get vaccinated to prevent further spread of measles across the country.
"It's really important that a lot of the community is vaccinated or immune to measles to protect others in the community who, for whatever reason, can't be vaccinated, for example, very young infants and those who are immunocompromised."
Health NZ National Clinical Director of Immunisation and Prevention, Dr Christine McIntosh. Photo: RNZ/Jessica Hopkins
She said with the holiday season approaching and people likely to be travelling, it was an important time to get immunised.
"It's important for people to be able to enjoy their holidays and travel safely across the country or back to the Pacific Islands, for example, to think about getting vaccinated now to protect themselves, their whānau, community, and those overseas."
Measles vaccines are now free for everyone in New Zealand over the age of one.
Vaccines being kept cold Photo: RNZ/Jessica Hopkins
The national public health service said at this stage, it was not necessary for those under 12 months old to be vaccinated, unless they were a close contact or travelling to a country with an active measles outbreak.
"At this stage, we are not recommending all babies under 12 months of age receive an additional MMR dose, which we call MMR0.
"This is based on our assessment of the current risk of measles to the general public and our understanding of the evidence of efficacy of MMR0 for babies under 12 months old. MMR doses for children younger than 12 months old provide some protection against measles, but is less effective than when given on the regular schedule at 12 months and at 15 months.
"However, clinical and public health specialists are continuing to actively review the best approach to MMR0 as the current outbreak develops, and we will clearly communicate with the public if our advice changes based on the public health risk.
"We are also monitoring other countries' response to measles outbreaks, noting that other jurisdictions in similar situations have elected not to administer MMR0. For instance, both Australia, and the United Kingdom have recently had significant measles outbreaks and decided not to provide MMR0 doses for all children under 12 months of age. Instead, like New Zealand currently, they provide MMR0 to close contacts of cases. "
The service said the best way to protect babies from measles was to ensure that the people around them were fully vaccinated.
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