Bay of Plenty DHB among lowest child immunisation rates

The Bay of Plenty DHB is fifth-lowest for 24-month-old children fully immunised. Photo / File

Deprivation and vaccine hesitancy could be behind lags in child immunisation rates in the Bay of Plenty but "tailored services" could make improvements, the health board says.

A local GP says "even the petrol to get to a vaccination service is an issue".

According to the Ministry of Health, the Bay of Plenty District Health Board was the fifth-lowest health board when it came to the number of children fully immunised by age 2, in the three-month period ending September.

In the health board area, 83.8 per cent of 2-year-olds were fully immunised. The top-rated of the 20 health boards was Canterbury with 93.6 per cent.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board child and youth, oral health and pharmacy portfolio manager Tim Slow said the rates were not what it wanted.

However, "there is a lot of work ongoing in this area targeted at developing and embedding systems which will deliver the desired results".

Slow said the board was working on "tailored services" for immunisation.

The DHB is "focused on redesigning our communication, engagement and services with families/whānau and the wider community", Slow said.

"We have an action plan in place that is focused on new communications to boost engagement and consultation with the wider community for alternative delivery models.

"This process takes time to build partnerships, establish resource, potential collaboration and build an alternative approach that resonates with families/whānau and the community."

The region was the fifth-lowest for Māori 2-year-olds fully immunised, at 77.3 per cent.

The data showed 71.6 per cent of Pacific children in the region were fully vaccinated at 6 months old, ranking it as seventh-lowest for that category.

"The lower rate of vaccination for higher deprivation areas we believe is most likely influenced by multiple factors resulting in hesitancy/engagement with the system," Slow said.

"There have been some issues experienced with hesitancy and service access or engagement in a timely manner."

Slow said factors included the inability to attend appointments, social media misinformation, a need for greater education on the value of immunisation, and a need for communications that resonate with the public and other priorities.

Local GP Dr Tony Farrell said, "The DHB is trying to do a lot in terms of immunisations, and they have the added burden of vaccination of the population against Covid-19.

GP Tony Farrell says deprived communities have barriers to children's immunisations. Photo / File

"Those parts of the community that are more deprived are living with day-to-day priorities that just don't include immunisation."

Farrell said those who are on the bottom of the socio-economic scale were being hit with inflation.

"Even the petrol to get to a vaccination service is an issue.

"We have a high proportion of Māori in the Bay of Plenty who are overrepresented in the poverty statistics."

He said immunisation barriers included ease of access, cultural issues, health knowledge and misinformation on social media.

"It only takes one family member to create a lot of doubt and uncertainty about vaccines."

Whānau Āwhina Plunket regional operations manager for the Central Region, Viv Edwards said, "Sometimes it takes time for people to feel ready to immunise their tamariki – but it's never too late."

Viv Edwards is the Whānau Āwhina Plunket regional operations manager for the central region. Photo / Supplied

Plunket works closely with DHBs to improve vaccination access, awareness and uptake.

"As well as protecting individual tamariki, regular childhood immunisations also protect the entire community through herd immunity.

"The best way parents and caregivers can protect tamariki against common childhood illnesses is through immunisation."